DUKE 
UNIVERSITY 


LIBRARY 


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PASTORAL  THEOLOGY: 


THE 


THEORY  OF  A  GOSPEL  MINISTRY, 


BY 


A.  VINET, 

PROFESSOR  OF   THEOLOGY    AT   LAUSANNE. 


Iranslattlr    from    i\)t    JFrnufj. 


"Let  not  thine  heart  be  hasty  to  utter  any  thing  before  God;  for  God  is  in 
lioaven,  and  tliou  upon  earth." — Ecclesiastes  v.  2. 

"Quand  on  ne  serait  pendant  sa  vie  que  I'apOtre  d'un  seni  hoinme,  ce  no 
serait  pas  etre  en  vain  sur  hi  torre,  ni  lui  ctre  un  fardeau  inutile."— La 
Jqruveke. 


WITH   NOTES,    AND   AN   INTRODUCTORY   ESSAY   ON    THE 
PASTORAL    OFFICE, 

BY   THOS.    0.    SUMMERS,    D.D. 


Nnsljbtllr,  Crnn.  : 

SOUTHERN    METHODIST    PUI3LISIIING    HOUSE. 

18G1. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Advertisement  by  the  Editors vii 

Prefatory  Norte x 

Introductory  Essay  on  the  Pastoral  Office xi 

INTRODUCTION. 

1  I.  Subject  defined.— What  is  the  jMintstei-  of  the  Gqspel?— 

The  Ideal  Minister 41 

§  II.  Necessity  of  the  Evangelical  Ministry G2 

g  HI.  Institution  of  the  Evangelical  Ministrj' GG 

^  IV.  Does  the  Ministry  consHtute  an  Orvler  in  the  Ciiurch?...  71 

§  V.  Excellence  of  the  Ministry 80 

\  VI.  Difficulties  and  Advantages  of  an  Evangelical  Ministry..  S5 

2  VII.  Vocation  to  the  Evangelical  Ministry lUli 

FIRST  PART. 

individual   and   INTF.aiOR    LIFE. 

General  Principle.— Renewal  of  Vocation 146 

Particular  Rules. — 1.  Solitude 149 

2.  Prayer 153 

3.  Study  in  general,  and  of  the  Bible  in 

particular ].'}4 

4.  Economy  of  Time 163 

5.  Asceticism 164 

SECOND  PART. 

relative  or  social  life. 

Chapter  I. — Social  Life  in  General 1G8 

2  I.  Gravity 170 

1.  In  manners 172 

2.  lu  discourse. Q..i»<y1"k4"y*>-4^ 177 


314270 


(iii) 


IV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

§  II.  Simplicity. — Modesty 178 

^  III.  Pacific  Temper 179 

§  IV.  Mildness 181 

§  V.  Prudence. — Uprightness. — Candor 182 

§  VI.  Disinterestedness 184 

^  VII.  Tlie  Minister  as  related  to  the  general  interest  of  Society..  193 

Chapter  II. — Domestic  Life  of  the  Minister 198 

^  I.  General  Reflections. — Mari'iage  and  Celibacy. — The  Pas- 
tor's Wife 198 

§11.  Government  of  the  Family 204 

§  III.  House  and  Household  Economy  of  the  Pastor..... 205 

THIRD   PART. 

pastoual   life. 

Preliminary  Reflections  on  the  Choice  of  a  Parish,  and  on  Changes  211 

Section  the  First. —  Worship, 

AVorship  in  general 221 

Catholic  Worship.— Protestant  Worship 223 

Worsliip  of  the  Primitive  Church  - 224 

Characteristics  which  should  be  continued  in  Public  Worship....  227 

Costume...^. 229 

Celebration  of 'Ritps 230 

Pieception  of  Catechumens 231 

The  Lord's  Supper 231 

Baptism 232 

Singing 232 

Funerals 233 

Section  the  Second. — Teaching. 

Chapteu  I. — Preachinq 234 

§  I.  Importance  of  Preaching  among  the   Functions  of    the 

Ministry 234 

§  II.  Principles  or  Maxims  to  be  observed  with  reference  to 

Preaching 238 


CONTENTS.  V 

PAGE 

^  III.  Object  of  Preaching U4'.> 

§  IV.  Unity  of  Preaching 230 

§  V.  Different  Classes  united  in  the  same  Audience 252 

§  VI.  Popularity'. — Familiarity. — Authority. — Unction 254 

§  VII.  Form  of  Preaching 264 

§  VIII.  Sermons  on  Special  Occasions  and  Festivals 268 

§  IX.  Miscellaneous  Questions  relative  to  Preaching 269 

Chapter  II. — Catkchization 280 

g  I.   Its  Importance  and  Aim 280 

§  ir.   General  Characteristics  of   Catcchization. — Source  and 

Method  of  Religious  Instruction 282 

§  hi.  Advice  to  the  Catechist 283 

Section  the  Third. — Care  of  Souls,  or  Pastoral  Oversiffht. 

Chapter  I. — On  the  Care  of  Souls  in  General 288 

5  I.   Its  Relations  to  Preaching. — Fundamenlal  Principles  of 

this  Duty  288 

^  II.  Objections  to  the  Exercise  of  this  Duty 202 

§  III.  Conditions,  or  Qualities,  required  in  the  Care  of  Souls..  203 

^  IV.  Threefold  Object  of  Pastor.al  Oversight 296 

2  V.  The  School 200 

^  VI.  Relations  with  Families. — Pastoral  Visits 300 

Chapter  II. — The  Care  of  Souls  applied  to  Individuals 305 

§  I.  Introduction. — Division  of  the  Subject 305 

§  II.  Internal  State 307 

1.  Persons  decidedly  Pious 308 

2.  Tlie  newly  Converted  312 

3.  The  Awakened 313 

4.  The  Troubled 314 

5.  The  Orthodox 316 

6.  Skeptics 310 

7.  Th6  Indifferent 320 

8.  Infidels 321 

0.  Rationalists 323 

10.   Stoics 324 

n.  Reproof  and  Guidance 325 

12.  General  Counsels 327 


314270 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

2  m.  External  State 330 

1.  The  Sick 331 

a.  False  Security  in  Sick  Men 338 

b.  Those  ■who  are  Troubled 341 

c.  Genei'al  Directions 346 

d.  Families  who  are  Mourning 349 

2.  Mental  Maladies 351 

3.  Dissensions 354 

4.  The  Poor 356 

FOURTH  PART.  • 

ADMINISTRATIVE    OR   OFFICIAL    LIFE. 

Chapter  I.  Discipline 360 

Chapter  II.  Conduct  towards  different  Religious  Parties 362 

Chapter  III.  Relations  of  Ecclesiastics  among  themselves 366 

Chapter  IV.  The  Pastor  in  his  Relations  to  Authorities 370 

APPENDIX. 

Note  I.  On  the  Reality  of  the  Priestly  Office 374 

Note  II.  The  Mystery  of  Preaching 375 

Note  III.  On  the  Early  Usurpation  of  Personal  Authority  by 

the  Priest 376 

Note  IV.  First  Indications  of  the  tendency  to  form  Pastors  into 

a  Caste 378 

Note  V.  The  Universal  Priesthood  in  the  Christian  Church 383 

Note  VI.  On  the  Dignity  of  the  Ministry 385 

Note  VII.  On  Prayer 386 

Note  VIII.  On  the  Use  of  the  Catechism 390 

Note  IX.  Bengel's  "  Thoughts  on  the  Exercise  of  the  Ministi'y."  392 


ADVERTISEMENT  BY  THE  EDITORS. 


The  volume  which  wc  now  present  to  the  public  was  not 
prepared  for  the  press  by  M.  Vinet.  It  consists  merely  of 
notes  which  were  used  as  the  basis  of  a  course  of  lectures 
prepared  for  the  students  of  the  Academy  at  Lausanne. 
These  notes,  which  are  for  the  most  part  drawn  up  with  the 
greatest  care,  yet  sometimes  appear  to  be  simply  an  outline, 
which  the  professor  designed  to  complete  in  the  delivery. 
This  will  account  for  those  imperfections  in  the  form  which 
would  certainly  have  disappeared  if  the  author  had  himself 
given  a  finishing  stroke  to  his  work.  Wc  have,  however, 
thought  it  best  to  publish  it  in  the  state  in  which  we  found 
it,  without  allowing  ourselves  to  remodel  any  part.  But  as 
we  had,  for  some  parts  of  the  course,  more  than  one  original 
manuscript,  the  task  has  often  fallen  to  us  of  completing  one 
by  the  aid  of  another.  Further,  when  something  additional 
seemed  indispensable  in  order  to  elucidate  or  complete  the 
idea  of  the  author,  we  have  inserted  developments  derived 
from  the  note-books  of  M.  Vinet's  auditors.  These  might 
have  been  multiplied,  but  we  have  only  employed  them  where 
we  thought  them  necessary,  and  all  additions  of  this  kind 
have  been  placed  in  brackets,  [],  in  order  that  the  reader 
may  recognize  them. 

M.  Vinct  has  himself  translated  several  passages  taken 
from  ancient  or  foreign  authors,  which  he  introduced  in  the 
course  of  the  work.  Those  which  yet  remain  in  the  original 
language,  wc  have  ourselves  translated. 

(Tii) 


Vlll       ADVERTISEMENT    BY    THE    EDITORS. 

The  appendix  at  the  end  of  the  volume  consists  princi- 
pally of  passages  from  authors,  to  which  M.  Vinet  merely 
refers,  but  which  appear  to  have  been  read  by  him  during 
his  lectures,  and  which  serve  to  elucidate  his  thought ;  seve- 
ral have  been  completely  transcribed  by  him  in  his  note-book. 
They  appeared  to  us  at  once  too  extended  to  be  inserted  in 
the  course,  and  yet  so  important  that  we  could  not  content  our- 
selves with  simply  referring  to  them.  Bengel's  "  Thoughts," 
which  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  have  been  translated 
from  the  German  by  M.  Vinet,  and  published  separately  in 
a  small  16mo  pamphlet. 

Allusions  will  occasionally  be  found  to  the  institutions  of 
the  National  Church  of  the  Canton  de  Vaud.  We  may  re- 
mind the  reader  that  the  greater  number  of  M.  Vinet's  hear- 
ers were  preparing  for  the  ministry  in  this  Church,  with 
which  he  did  not  cease  to  be  connected,  so  far  as  worship  is 
concerned,  until  a  Free  Church  was  established  in  the  Canton 
de  Vaud,  in  consequence  of  the  resignation  of  a  large  number 
of  the  pastors  in  the  National  Church. 

We  hope  that  this  course  of  Pastoral  Theology  will  be 
well  received,  not  only  by  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  stu- 
dents in  theology,  for  whom  it  is  more  immediately  designed, 
but  also  by  the  religious  public  generally.  M.  Vinet's  fun- 
damental idea  should  recommend  his  book  to  the  serious 
attention  of  all  friends  of  the  gospel.  The  pastor  is  not,  in 
his  view,  an  isolated  being,  banished  from  the  general  com- 
munity of  Christians  into  the  retirement  of  a  remote  and 
solitary  dignity,  to  which  obscui-er  believers  may  not  aspire, 
lie  regards  him  not  so  much  above  them,  as  at  their  head — 
their  advanced  leader  in  the  Avork  of  love.  Accordingly,  his 
functions  are  not  his  exclusive  prerogative ;  on  the  contrary, 
all  ought  to  associate  actively  with  him,  and  will,  in  foct,  so 
associate  with  him,  according  to  the  measure  of  their  faith- 
fulness.    The  pastor  is  not  different  from  the  Christian ;  he 


ADVERTISEMENT    BY    THE    EDITORS.  IX 

is  the  ti/pal  Christian — the  example  for  his  flock.  1  Tim. 
iv.  12.  All  Christians,  therefore,  will  find  that  precious  in- 
struction may  be  gathered  from  tliis  book.  If  tliey  receive 
it  as  we  dare  hope  they  will,  we  shall  not  delay  in  publishing 
also  the  ''  Homilctics,  or  the  Theory  of  Preaching,"  the 
manuscript  of  which  is  also  in  our  possession. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


This  edition  of  Vinet's  work  on  Pastoral  Theology  is  a 
carefully  revised  reprint  of  the  Edinburgh  edition.  We 
have  inserted  various  marginal  notes,  and  prefixed  an  Intro- 
ductory Essay  on  the  Pastoral  Office,  with  the  hope  of 
making  this  great  work  more  available  to  the  Church  in 
this  country. 

Thos.  0.  Summers. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  August  2,  1861. 


INTRODUCTORY   ESSAY 


PASTORAL     OFFICE 


In  ancient  times,  the  character  and  work  of  civil  and 
religious  functionaries  were  frequently  set  forth  under  the 
beautiful  and  expressive  imagery  of  a  shepherd  feeding  and 
superintending  his  flock.  And  whereas  the  kings,  priests, 
and  prophets  of  Israel,  instead  of  duly  tending  the  sheep  of 
God's  pasture,  scattered  the  flock,  anjd  drove  them  away,  and 
visited  them  not,  he  threatens  to  remove  them  from  their 
office,  and  promises  to  supply  their  place  with  shepherds  of 
a  different  character.  To  what  extent  the  promise  was  ful- 
filled after  the  captivity,  (which  was  then  imminent,)  under 
the  comparatively  faithful  and  successful  administration  of 
Ezra,  Nehcmiah,  and  the  Maccabees,  it  is  not  easy  to  say; 
but  from  various  evangelical  allusions  in  the  prophecies,  it 
would  seem  that  the  grand  fulfilment  was  reserved  to  the 
times  of  the  gospel  dispensation.  It  finds  its  nucleus  in  the 
office  and  work  of  Him  who  is  styled  the  good  Shepherd,  the 
great  Shepherd,  the  chief  Shepherd,  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop 
of  your  souls. 

The  fulfilment  of  the  promise  is  developed  in  that  wonder- 
ed) 


XU  INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY. 

ful  and  gracious  economy  in  which  the  ascending  Saviour, 
among  the  largesses  which  he  bestows  on  his  Church,  ap- 
points over  it  not  only  such  extraordinary  officers  as  apostles, 
and  prophets,  and  evangelists,  but  also,  "  in  lowlier  forms," 
pastors  and  teachers,  who  are  "  set  in"  the  Church  and  made 
overseers  of  the  flock  of  God  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

In  one  comprehensive  sentence  their  authority,  their  cha- 
racter, and  their  work,  are  indicated  :  "  I  will  give  you  pas- 
tors according  to  mine  heart,  which  shall  feed  you  with 
knowledge  and  understanding."    Jer.  iii.  15. 

Here  is,  first,  their  authority — "  I  will  give  you  pastors." 
This  is  the  language  of  Jehovah,  and  it  intimates  a  great 
and  necessary  truth.  In  every  sense  in  which  the  right  of 
propriety  can  be  recognized,  the  flock  belongs  to  God. 
"  Know  ye  that  the  Lord  he  is  God  :  it  is  he  that  hath  made 
us,  and  not  we  ourselves :  we  are  his  people,  and  the  sheep 
of  his  pasture."  "  I  am  the  good  Shepherd  :  the  good  Shep- 
herd giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep."  It  is  therefore  reason- 
able to  conclude  that  he  will  have  something  to  do  with  the 
appointment  of  those  who  are  to  oversee  the  flock.  In  some 
■way  or  other  he  must  appoint  the  shepherds.  He  is  "  the 
door"  for  the  shepherds  as  well  as  for  the  sheep.  And  his 
solemn  asseveration  intimates  that  he  attaches  no  small  im- 
portance to  this  fact:  ''Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  He 
that  entereth  not  by  the  door  into  the  sheepfold,  but  climbeth 
up  some  other  way,  the  same  is  a  thief  and  a  robber.  But 
he  that  entereth  in  by  the  door  is  the  shepherd  of  the  sheep." 
"  The  tenth  of  John,"  says  Bishop  Burnet,  "  is  the  place 
which  both  Fathers  and  more  modern  writers  have  chiefly 
made  use  of  to  show  the  dificrence  between  good  and  bad 
pastors.  The  good  shepherds  enter  by  the  door,  and  Christ 
is  this  door  by  whom  they  must  enter — that  is,  from  whom 
they  must  have  their  vocation  and  ministry."  Hence  the 
Church  has  ordered  this  portion  of  Scripture  to  be  read  as 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY.  Xlll 

the  "gospel,"  at  tlic  ordination  of  elders.     There  arc  two 
ways  in  which  men  arc  called  to  the  ministry. 

The  first  is  by  inward  prompting.  This  consists  in  an  in- 
fluence of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  soul.  It  is  what  is  implied 
in  the  question  proposed  by  the  Church  to  the  candidates  for 
this  office  :  "  Do  you  trust  you  are  inwardly  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  take  upon  you  the  office  of  the  ministry  in 
the  Church  of  Christ,  to  serve  God  for  the  promotion  of  his 
glory  and  the  edifying  of  his  people  ?"  In  some  cases,  this 
influence  is  felt  more  particularly  in  the  region  of  the  intel- 
lect. A  man  is  led  to  survey  the  great  work  which  has  to 
be  accomplished  in  the  world,  and  the  necessity  of  the  mul- 
tiplication of  laborers  in  order  to  its  accomplishment,  and  to 
inquire  if  he  may  not  be  needed  for  this  service.  He  is  led 
to  push  the  incjuiry  until  the  subject  takes  possession  of  his 
thoughts,  and  he  is  inclined  to  say,  "  Here  am  I :  send  me." 
Sometimes  this  influence  is  felt  more  fully  in  the  emotional 
department  of  a  man's  nature.  He  is  led  to  mourn  over  the 
sins  and  sorrows  of  the  human  family,  to  desire  earnestly  the 
salvation  of  men,  and  to  rejoice  in  all  the  successes  and 
triumphs  of  the  Saviour's  cause.  He  is  thus  drawn  into  the 
field  of  active  enterprise,  and  before  he  is  fully  awai'c  of  it 
himself,  he  is  going  after  the  wandering  sheep  and  bringing 
them  to  the  fold.  In  other  cases  the  influence  is  realized 
more  powerfully  in  the  conscience.  Whether  or  not  a  man 
has  any  special  appetency  to  the  work,  it  assumes  the  form 
of  imperative  and  paramount  duty,  and  he  is  heard  exclaim- 
ing, "Woe  is  unto  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel!"  The 
Divine  origin  of  this  influence  may  not  be — in  most  instances 
it  is  not — fully  appreciated  at  first.  There  is  generally  a 
series  of  mental  exercises,  not  unfrequently  of  a  painful  cha- 
racter, involving  self-examination,  scrutiny  of  motives,  invo- 
cation of  direction,  human  and  Divine,  before  a  man  settles 
down  with  a  rational,  moral  conviction  that  it  is  his  duty  to 


XIV  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

devote  himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Alluding  to  the 
question  in  the  ordinal,  Bishop  Burnet  says  :  "  Many  may  be 
able  to  answer  it  truly  according  to  the  sense  of  the  Church, 
who  may  yet  have  great  doubting  in  themselves  concerning 
it ;  but  every  man  that  has  it  not,  must  needs  know  that  he 
has  it  not.  The  true  meaning  of  it  must  be  resolved  thus  : 
The  motives  that  ought  to  determine  a  man  to  dedicate 
himself  to  the  ministering  in  the  Church,  are  a  zeal  for  pro- 
moting the  glory  of  God,  for  raising  the  honor  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  for  the  making  it  to  be  the  better  understood 
and  more  submitted  to ;  and  when  to  this  he  has  added  a 
concern  for  the  souls  of  men,  a  tenderness  for  them,  a  zeal  to 
rescue  them  from  endless  misery,  and  a  desire  to  put  them  in 
the  way  to  everlasting  happiness;  and  from  these  motives, 
feels  in  himself  a  desire  to  dedicate  his  life  and  labors  to 
those  ends;  and  in  order  to  them,  studies  to  understand  the 
Scriptures,  and  more  particularly  the  New  Testament,  that 
from  thence  he  may  form  a  true  notion  of  this  holy  religion, 
and  so  be  an  able  minister  of  it :  this  man,  and  only  this 
man,  so  moved  and  so  qualified,  can  in  truth,  and  with  a  good 
conscience,  answer,  that  he  trusts  he  is  inwardly  moved  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  And  every  one  that  ventures  on  the  saying 
it  without  this,  is  a  sacrilegious  profaner  of  the  name  of  God, 
and  of  his  Holy  Spirit :  he  breaks  in  upon  his  Church,  not 
to  feed  it,  but  to  rob  it.  And  it  is  certain  that  he  who  begins 
with  a  lie,  may  be  sent  by  the  Father  of  lies ;  but  he  cannot 
be  thought  to  enter  in  by  the  door,  who  prevaricates  in  the 
first  word  that  he  says  in  order  to  his  admittance."  These 
are  strong  words ;  but  the  honest  prelate,  who  wrote  his  book 
on  the  Pastoral  Care  by  order  of  the  Queen  and  Primate,  by 
whom  and  by  other  dignitaries  of  the  Anglican  Church  it  was 
endorsed,  saw  no  reason  to  weaken  his  testimony  on  this  im- 
portant subject,  when  in  his  seventieth  year  he  issued  another 
edition  of  it,  with  a  new  and  memorable  Preface. 


INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY.  XV 

I)Ut  this  inward  influence  is  connected  with  a  second 
thing,  outward  vocation.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
Providence  will  open  the  way  for  the  discharge  of  any  duty 
to  which  a  man  may  be  prompted  by  the  inward  motion  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  The  wisdom  of  God  will  prompt  no  man 
to  do  what  his  power  and  grace  will  not  enable  him  to  per- 
form. No  man  is  called  to  the  ministry  who  has  not  the 
physical  ability  to  execute  its  functions.  If  an}'  man,  there- 
fore, think  that  he  is  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  engage  in 
this  work,  he  may  be  sure  that  he  has  mistaken  his  impres- 
sions, or  that  the  call  has  a  prospective  bearing,  if  he  is  so 
entangled  with  the  affairs  of  this  life  that  he  cannot  command 
the  external  facilities  necessary  in  the  premises.  So  with 
regard  to  intellectual  capacity.  If  a  reasonable  share  of 
common  sense  and  mental  training  do  not  obtain  in  connec- 
tion with  the  supposed  call  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  a  man  need 
not  apprehend  that  he  will  be  punished  as  a  delinquent  if  he 
does  not  enter  the  ministry.  The  same  principle  applies 
with  still  greater  force  to  moral  acquirements.  The  question 
whether  or  not  God  ever  calls  any  one  to  the  ministry  while 
he  is  a  child,  or  while  he  is  unregenerate,  need  not  embarrass 
us.  If  the  Spirit  of  God  moves  Samson  in  the  camp  of  Dan  ; 
or  Samuel  while  a  child  in  the  temple;  or  John  the  Baptist 
from  his  mother's  womb,  it  is  not  that  during  their  childhood 
they  should  deliver  Israel,  administer  justice,  or  herald  the 
approach  of  the  kingdom  of  God :  it  is  rather  that  they 
should  be  preparing  themselves  for  these  undertakings,  when 
they  shall  be  mature  enough  to  enter  upon  them.  In  all 
cases  of  this  sort,  outward  circumstances  will  be  providen- 
tially so  arranged  as  that  those  who  are  not  disobedient  unto 
the  heavenly  vision  shall  be  sure  to  have  the  path  of  duty 
made  straight  and  plain  before  them.  If  a  man  think  he  is 
called  of  God,  and  that  he  has  the  qualifications  requisite  for 
the  work,  he  may  reasonably  expect  that  the  discovery  of  the 


5V1  INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY. 

fact  will  be  made  by  others — at  least,  that  if  he  makes  known 
his  impressions  to  the  Church,  the  Church  will  not  fail  to 
endorse  them.  The  Church,  indeed,  may  call  those  whom 
God  has  never  called;  and  it  may  reject  those  whom  God 
approves;  nevertheless,  the  voice  of  the  Church  is  not  to  be 
ignored.  If  the  Church  repudiate  a  man's  claims,  it  is 
2)rivia  facie  evidence  that  he  is  mistaken.  He  himself 
should  suspect  that  this  is  so.  Hence  he  should  more  fully 
investigate  the  case,  using  all  the  means  in  his  power  to 
reach  an  unbiased  conclusion.  If  after  all  both  parties  re- 
main of  the  same  opinion — the  man  thinking  he  is  called, 
and  the  Church  thinking  he  is  not — it  would  seem  to  be  safe 
for  him  to  let  his  zeal  for  God  and  the  salvation  of  men  body 
itself  forth  in  some  of  the  thousand  forms  and  methods  in 
which  a  man  may  do  good  without  assuming  the  peculiar  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  ministry.  This  may,  indeed,  be  the  pur- 
port of  his  vocation  ;  for  the  Holy  Ghost  is  constantly  moving 
men  and  women  to  "  occupy"  their  respective  talents  in  the 
various  departments  of  usefulness  which  the  Church  in- 
dicates and  sanctions.  "  Having  then  gifts  diifering  according 
to  the  grace  that  is  given  to  us,  whether  prophecy,  let  us 
prophesy  according  to  the  proportion  of  faith ;  or  ministry, 
let  us  wait  on  our  ministering ;  or  he  that  teacheth,  on  teach- 
ing; or  he  that  exhorteth,  on  exhortation:  he  that  giveth, 
let  him  do  it  with  simplicity ;  he  that  ruleth,  with  diligence ; 
he  that  showeth  mercy,  with  cheerfulness."  But  if  a  man 
still  feels  that  it  is  his  duty  to  expound  the  Scriptures  in  a 
public  capacity,  to  call  sinners  to  repentance,  and  in  order  to 
the  due  performance  of  this  work  to  separate  himself  from 
all  worldly  cares,  on  the  correct  and  scriptural  principle  that 
they  who  preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the  gospel,  let  him 
go  forth  on  his  own  responsibility,  preach  to  as  many  as  will 
hear  him,  trusting  for  his  support  to  the  contributions  of 
those  who  inay  be  disposed  to  favor  his  claims,  or,  in  the 


INTRODIJOTORY     ESSAY.  XVU 

failure  of  tliis  dependence,  to  a  special  Providence,  or  a 
luiraclc.  Let  no  man  hinder  him — to  his  own  Master  he 
standeth  or  fallcth.  Mcanwliile,  let  him  not  complain  that 
honest,  independent  men  will  not  swerve  from  their  judg- 
ment, patiently  and  prayerfully  formed,  in  a  matter  so  tran- 
scendcntly  important  as  the  recognition  of  a  call  by  the  Head 
of  the  Church  to  preach  the  gospel.  We  say  recognition ; 
for,  as  Bishop  Burnet  says,  "  Christ,  rather  than  the  Church, 
confers  orders.  The  forms  of  ordination  in  the  Greek 
Church,  which  we  have  reason  to  believe  are  less  changed, 
and  more  conform  to  the  primitive  patterns  than  those  used 
by  the  Latins,  do  plainly  import  that  the  Church  only  de- 
clared the  Divine  vocation.  '  The  grace  of  God,  that  per- 
fects the  feeble  and  heals  the  weak,  promotes  this  man  to  be 
a  deacon,  a  priest,  or  a  bishop ;'  where  nothing  is  expressed 
as  conferred,  but  only  as  declared  ;  so  our  Church,"  continues 
the  venerable  prelate,  "  by  making  our  Saviour's  words  the 
form  of  ordination,  must  be  construed  to  intend  by  that  tliat 
it  is  Christ  only  that  sends,  and  that  the  bishops  are  only  his 
ministers  to  pronounce  his  mission."  ''  Pray  ye  therefore," 
says  our  Saviour,  "  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  will  send 
forth  laborers  into  his  harvest."  Let  the  Church  do  all  that 
it  can  to  increase  the  number  of  its  faithful  pastors ;  but  let 
it  not  forget  that  the  Holy  Ghost  makes  men  overseers  of  the 
flock. 

The  second  thing  to  be  noticed  is  the  character  of  those 
who  are  thus  called  to  the  pastoral  work. 

God  says  they  are  "pastors  after  mine  heart." 
This  implies,  first,  that  they  are  such  as  will  concur  with 
him  in  his  purposes.  As  he  said  of  David,  who  was  the 
shepherd-king  of  Israel  under  the  theocracy,  "  I  have  found 
David,  the  son  of  Jesse,  a  man  after  mine  own  heart,  which 
shall  fulfil  all  my  will."  David  entered  into  the  Divine 
designs  in  regard  to  the  government  of  Israel,  and  showed 


XVIU  INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY. 

himself  strong,  and  brave,  and  faithful  in  overseeing  and  de- 
fending the  great  national  flock  which  was  committed  to  his 
pastoral  care.  It  is  just  so  with  every  true  Christian  pastor. 
The  great  Shepherd  never  places  a  thief  or  a  robber,  much 
less  a  wolf,  in  charge  of  his  fold.  Every  good  shepherd 
feels  an  interest  in  the  sheep  for  their  sake,  and  also  on  ac- 
count of  their  great  Proprietor.  But  this  point  needs  no 
elaboration. 

It  is  implied,  secondly,  that  God  qualifies  pastors  for  the 
work  to  which  he  calls  them.  He  sees  in  them  those  traits 
which  under  the  influence  of  his  Spirit  may  be  developed 
into  pastoral  qualifications  before  he  places  the  shepherd's 
crook  into  their  hands.  If  they  respond  to  that  influence, 
this  will  show  itself  in  an  aptitude  for  the  work  to  which 
they  are  called.  They  will  take  a  delight  in  it.  They  will 
call  off  their  attention  as  much  as  possible  from  all  other 
cares  and  pursuits.  They  will  acquire  those  qualities  of 
mind  and  heart  which  will  approve  them  as  ministers  of 
Christ,  and  not  unauthorized  intruders  into  the  sacred  office. 
In  some  measure  they  will  be  like  the  great  Shepherd  him- 
self— they  will  not  count  their  lives  dear  unto  themselves, 
but  will  be  ready  to  lay  them  down  for  the  sheep.  They 
will  know  how  to  lead  them  to  fold,  and  pasture,  and 
stream — to  defend  them  from  prowling  beasts  of  prey,  feel- 
ing it  to  be  their  highest  honor  and  their  greatest  joy  to 
spend  and  be  spent  in  promoting  the  safety,  and  improve- 
ment, and  increase  of  the  flock.* 

*  Chaucer,  in  the  Prologue  to  the  Canterbury  Tales,  gives  a  fine 
portrait  of  a  good  priest : 

But  riche  he  was  of  lioly  thought  and  \yerk ; 
He  was  also  a  learned  man,  a  clerk, 
That  Cristes  gospel  trewely  wolde  preche; 
His  parishens  devoutly  wolde  he  teehe: 
Wide  was  his  parish,  and  houses  fer  asonder, 
But  he  ne  left  nought  for  no  rain  ne  thonder 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY.  XIX 

Tlic  qualifications  of  pastors  are  set  forth  by  Paul  in  one 
of  his  pastoral  epistles,  1  Timothy  iii. :  *'A  bishop  must  be 


nut  Cristes  lore,  and  his  apostles  twelve 
lie  taught,  but  first  ho  folwed  it  himselve. 

In  moilernizing  the  style,  Dryden  has  marred  the  beauties  of  this 
charming  picture. 

See  also  Goldsmith's  inimitable  description  of  tlie  country  parson. 
The  insertion  of  a  few  of  those  exquisite  verses  will  be  excused : 

Thus  to  relieve  the  wretched  was  his  pride, 
And  even  his  failings  leaned  to  virtue's  side; 
But  in  his  duty  prompt  at  every  call, 
He  watched  and  wept,  he  prayed  and  felt  for  all. 
And  as  a  bird  each  fond  endearment  tries, 
To  tempt  its  new-tlcdged  offspring  to  the  skies. 
He  tried  each  art,  reproved  each  dull  delay, 
Allured  to  brighter  worlds,  and  led  the  way. 

Beside  the  bed  where  parting  life  was  laid, 
And  sorrow,  guilt,  and  pain,  by  turns  dismayed, 
The  reverend  champion  stood.    At  his  control 
Despair  and  .anguish  tied  the  struggling  soul; 
Comfort  came  down  the  trenibling  wretch  to  raise, 
And  his  last  faltering  .accents  whispered  praise. 

At  church,  with  meek  and  unaflected  grace, 
His  looks  adorned  the  venerable  place: 
Truth  from  his  lips  prevailed  with  double  sway, 
,  And  fools,  who  came  to  scoff,  remained  to  pray. 

The  service  past,  around  the  pious  man, 
With  ready  zeal,  each  honest  rustic  ran; 
Even  children  followed  with  endearing  wile, 
And  plucked  his  gown,  to  share  the  good  man's  smile: 
His  ready  smile  a  parent's  warmth  expressed. 
Their  welfare  pleased  him.  and  their  cares  distressed  : 
To  them  his  heart,  his  love,  his  griefs  were  given. 
But  all  his  serious  thoughts  had  rest  in  heaven. 
As  some  tail  clitf  th.it  lifts  its  awful  form. 
Swells  from  the  vale,  and  midw.ay  leaves  the  storm, 
Though  round  its  breast  the  rolling  clouds  arc  spread, 
Kternal  sunshine  settles  on  its  liead. 

How  different  this  picture  from  that  drawn  by  Milton  in  his 
Lycidas,  where  lie  speaks  of 

such  as  for  their  bellies'  sake 

Creep,  and  intrude,  and  climb  into  the  fold. 

The  hllUgry  8he«-|i  look  no  run]  are  not  fed. 


XX  INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY. 

blameless"— free  from  reproach,  giving  no  just  cause  for 
accusation — "the  husband  of  one  wife" — one  who  had  not 
been  a  successive  polygamist,  previously  divorced  wives  still 
living :  not  an  uncommon  thing  in  ancient  times,  or  even 
now  in  non-Christian  countries* — ''vigilant" — or  circumspect 
in  his  deportment — "sober" — distinguished  for  gravity  and 
sobriety — "of  good  behavior" — orderly  and  decorous  in  his 
demeanor — "given  to  hospitality" — not  merely  from  a  be- 
nevolent disposition  to  entertain  strangers,  but  as  the  Corin- 
thians said,  There  was  always  somebody  in  the  house  of 
Cydon,  showing  that  he  was  a  man  of  aifairs,  so  the  minis- 
ter's house  should  be  a  place  of  resort  for  spiritual  counsel 
and  aid.  He  must  be  "apt  to  teach" — possessing  the  neces- 
sary knowledge  and  the  capacity  to  impart  it.  As  his  great 
business  is  to  expound  the  Scriptures,  an  acquaintance  with 
exegesis  is  indispensable.  He  must  know  the  principles  of 
interpretation,  and  acquire  a  facility  in  their  application  to 
every  passage  of  Scripture  which  it  may  be  his  duty  to  ex- 

*  Conybeare  and  Howson  say:  "  jNIany  different  interpretations 
have  been  given  to  this  precept.  It  has  been  supposed  (1)  to  pre- 
scribe marriage,  (2)  to  forbid  polygamy,  (3)  to  forbid  second  mar- 
riages. The  true  interpretation  seems  to  us  to  be  as  follows :  In  the 
corrupt  facility  of  divorce  allowed  both  by  the  Greek  and  Koman 
law,  it  was  very  common  for  man  and  wife  to  separate,  and  marry 
other  parties,  during  the  life  of  one  another.  Thus  a  man  might 
have  three  or  four  living  wives  ;  or,  rather,  women  who  had  all  suc- 
cessively been  his  wives.  An  example  of  the  operation  of  a  similar 
code  is  unhappily  to  be  found  in  our  own  colony  of  Mauritius.  There 
the  French  Revolutionary  law  of  divorce  has  been  suffered  by  the 
English  government  to  remain  unrepealed  ;  and  it  is  not  uncommon 
to  meet  in  society  three  or  four  women  who  have  all  been  the  wives 
of  the  same  man,  and  three  or  four  men  who  have  all  been  the  hus- 
bands of  the  same  woman.  We  believe  it  is  this  kind  of  successive 
polygamy,  rather  than  simultaneous  polygamy,  which  is  here  spoken 
of,  as  disqualifying  for  the  presbyterate.     So  Beza." 


INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY.  XXI 

plain.  In  ordci'  to  this,  he  will  find  it  expedient  to  acquire 
as  much  knowledge  as  possible  of  language,  logic,  rhetoric, 
mental  and  moral  philosophy,  and  physical  science — the 
world  within  and  the  world  around  us — in  order  to  secure  an 
apparatus  of  illustration  by  the  use  of  which  he  may  inter- 
pi'et  the  great  mysteries  of  our  salvation.  **  How  much 
learning,"  says  Archbishop  Leighton,  "  does  it  require  to 
make  these  things  plain  !"  "We  justly  reckon,"  says  Bishop 
Burnet,  "  that  our  profession  is  preferable  either  to  law  or 
medicine.  Now,  it  is  not  unreasonable  that  since  those  who 
pretend  to  these  must  be  at  so  much  pains  before  they  enter 
upon  a  practice  which  relates  only  to  men's  fortunes  or  their 
persons,  we,  whose  labors  relate  to  their  souls  and  their 
eternal  state,  should  be  at  least  at  some  considerable  pains 
before  we  enter  upon  them.  Nay,  if  every  mechanical  art, 
even  the  meanest,  requires  a  course  of  many  years  before  one 
can  be  master  in  it,  shall  the  noblest  and  the  most  important 
of  all  others,  that  which  comes  fr6m  heaven,  and  leads 
thither  again,  be  esteemed  so  low  a  thing  that  a  much  less 
degree  of  time  and  study  is  necessary  to  arrive  at  it  than  at 
the  most  sordid  of  all  trades  ?"  Donne  gives  us  the  idea  in 
a  pastoral  image  with  a  terrible  sarcasm  :  "After  an  ox  that 
oppresseth  the  grass,  after  a  horse  that  devours  the  grass, 
sheep  will  feed  j  but  after  a  goose  that  stanches  the  grass, 
they  will  not:  no  more  can  God's  sheep  receive  nourishment 
from  him  that  puts  a  scorn  upon  his  function,  by  his  igno- 
rance." Another  and  still  greater  pulpit  satirist  says  :  "  If 
he  has  nothing  to  trust  to  but  some  groundless,  windy,  and 
fantastic  notions  about  the  Spirit,  he  would  do  well  to  look 
back,  and  taking  his  hand  off  from  this  plough,  to  put  it  to 
another  much  fitter  for  him."*     A  man  who  is  called  to  the 


*  Dodslcy  in  his  "Art.  of  Preaching,"  a  parody  on  Horace's  ".Art 


SXU  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

ministry  must  not,  indeed,  wait  until  lie  is  an  accomplislied 
divine  befoi'c  lie  essays  to  preach.  "  Life  is  short,  and  art 
is  long,"  says  Hippocrates  —  an  adage  which  applies  with 
greater  force  to  the  work  of  the  pastor  than  to  that  of  the 
physician.  As  a  man  must  not  wait  till  he  is  perfectly 
versed  in  pathology  and  materia  medica  before  he  practices 
medicine,  so  a  man  must  begin  to  preach  before  he  is  a  pro- 
found theologian.  "The  mind  is  weak  and  narrow,  and  the 
business  diificult  and  large;  and  should  I  say,"  adds  South, 
"that  preaching  was  the. least  part  of  a  divine,  it  would,  I 
believe,  be  thought  a  bold  word,  and  look  like  a  paradox,  but 
perhaps  for  all  that  never  the  further  from  being  a  great 
truth."  But  a  man  ought  to  question  his  call  if  he  has  not 
"  a  clear,  sound  understanding,  a  right  judgment  in  the  things 
of  God,  a  just  conception  of  salvation  by  faith,"  and  the 
ability  to  ''speak  justly,  readily,  clearly,"  as  Wesley  ex- 
presses it.  Then,  as  Bishop  Burnet  suggests  —  and  the 
Methodist  Discipline  'concurs  in  the  suggestion  —  certain 
studies  should  be  made  prerequisite  to  admission  to  deacon's 
orders,  and  others,  in  advance  of  them,  prerequisite  to  ad- 
mission to  elder's  orders ;  and  after  that,  through  the  whole 
course  of  his  life,  let  the  minister  give  attendance  to  reading, 
and  study  to  show  himself  a  workman  that  needeth  not  to  be 

of  Poetry,"  has  some  fine  suggestions  as  well  as  some  biting  sar- 
casms ;  e.  g.  : 

In  every  science,  they  tliat  hope  to  rise 
Set  great  examples  still  before  their  eyes: 
Yomig  lawyers  copy  Blurray  where  they  can, 
Physicians  Mead,  and  surgeons  Cheselden; 
But  all  will  preach,  without  the  least  pretence 
To  virtue,  learning,  art,  or  eloquence. 

But  some  with  lazy  pride  disgrace  the  gown, 
And  never  pi'caeh  one  sermon  of  their  own: 
'Tis  easier  to  transcribe  than  to  compose, 
So  all  the  week  they  cat  and  drink  and  doze. 


INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY.  XXIU 

ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  woi'd  of  truth.  "Not  given 
to  wine,"  says  the  apostle — as  tippling  disturbs  the  normal 
action  of  the  mind — "  no  striker" — as  Theophylact  says, 
neither  smiting  with  the  hands  nor  unseasonably  with  bitter 
and  severe  words — "not  greedy  of  filthy  lucre" — so  as  to 
make  a  gain  of  godliness,  a  simoniacal  use  of  his  holy  office — 
"  but  patient" — that  is,  gentle  and  mild — "  not  a  brawler" — 
that  is,  not  contentious  or  quarrelsome,  a  peaceable  man — 
"  not  covetous" — not  fond  of  money,  but  setting  an  example 
of  liberality — "  one  that  rulcth  well  his  own  house,  having 
his  children  in  subjection  with  all  gravity" — that  is,  main- 
taining, like  Abraham,  the  dignity  of  a  patriarch  in  his  own 
family ;  "  for  if  a  man  know  not  how  to  rule  his  own  house, 
how  shall  he  take  care  of  the  Church  of  God  ?" — if  he  cannot 
govern  his  family,  he  ought  not  to  attempt  to  govern  the 
Church — "not  a  novice" — a  neophyte,  one  newly  converted 
and  inexperienced  in  Divine  things — "  lest  being  lifted  up 
with  pride,"  or  blinded  with  vanity  —  a  little  knowledge 
frequently  generating  self-conceit — "  he  fall  into  the  con- 
demnation of  the  devil" — stumbling,  by  reason  of  his  blind- 
ness, he  falls  after  the  example  and  realizes  the  punishment 
of  the  devil. — "  Moreover,  he  must  have  a  good  report  from 
them  that  are  without" — his  character  should  stand  fair  even 
in  the  estimation  of  those  who  do  not  belong  to  the  Church — 
"lest  he  fall  into  reproach" — that  is,  deserved  censure — 
"  and  the  snare  of  the  devil" — who  is  always  trying  to  get 
ministers  to  compromit  their  reputation  before  the  world,  in 
order  to  destroy  their  usefulness.  If  these  apostolic  canons 
and  constitutions  be  faithfully  observed,  ministers  will  not 
need  the  pseudo-Clementines  to  tell  them  what  manner  of 
persons  they  ought  to  be  so  as  to  make  full  proof  of  their 
ministry. 

And  this  brings  us  to  notice  the  third  and  principal  point, 
the  work  of  those  who  are  called  to  this  office.     God  says 


XXIV  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

they  ''  shall  feed  you  with  knowledge  and  understanding."  As 
capable  shepherds,  men  who  know  how  to  take  care  of  the 
flock,  they  shall  give  it  due  oversight.  A  minister's  work 
embraces  enlightened  instruction  and  judicious  supervision. 
The  instruction  is  preaching,  both  homiletical  and  cateche- 
tical. 

Homiletical  instruction  should  be  based  upon  as  thorough 
a  knowledge  of  the  word  of  God  as  the  minister  can  attain. 
He  must  "  preach  the  word."  "All  Scripture  is  given  by  in- 
spiration of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof, 
for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness ;  that  the  man 
of  God  may  be  perfect,  throughly  furnished  unto  all  good 
works."  Christian  ministers  should  learn  a  lesson  from  Mo- 
hammedan doctors  in  regard  to  this  matter.  They  spare  no 
pains  to  ground  the  faithful  in  their  knowledge  and  belief  of 
the  Koran.  So  the  Jewish  Rabbis.  "  It  is  the  only  visible 
reason,"  says  Bishop  Burnet,  "of  the  Jews  adhering  so 
firmly  to  their  religion,  that  during  the  ten  or  twelve  years  of 
their  education,  their  youth  are  so  much  practiced  to  the 
Scriptures,  to  weigh  every  word  in  them,  and  get  them  all  by 
heart,  that  it  is  an  admiration  to  see  how  ready  both  men  and 
women  among  them  are  at  it.  Their  Rabbis  have  it  to  that 
perfection  that  they  have  the  concordance  of  their  whole 
Bible  in  their  memories,  which  gives  thfem  vast  advantages 
when  they  are  to  argue  with  any  that  are  not  so  ready  as  they 
are  in  the  Scriptures.  Our  task  is  much  shorter  and  easier, 
and  it  is  a  reproach,  especially  to  us  Protestants,"  adds  the 
venerable  prelate,  "  who  found  our  religion  merely  in  the 
Scriptures,  that  we  know  the  New  Testament  so  little,  which 
cannot  be  excused."  An  extensive  acquaintance  with  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  and  a  capacity  to  expound  them,  would  give 
great  interest  to  our  pulpit  performances,  and,  if  it  did  not 
preclude,  would  render  inexcusable  the  popular  and  undis- 
criminating  denunciation  of  long  sermons ;  but  in  the  absence 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY.  XSV 

of  this,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  what  was  said  by  Cicero  of  the 
orations  of  Demosthenes  cannot  be  said  of  our  sermons,  the 
longest  of  them  are  the  best. 

Homiletical  instruction  should  also  be  specific  in  its  char- 
acter— ^judiciously  adapted  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men. 
Only  in  this  way  can  it  be  good  to  the  use  of  edifying.  The 
strong  meat  which  is  of  use  to  those  who  are  of  full  age  is 
unfit  for  newborn  babes,  who  must  have  milk — food  adapted 
to  their  receptive,  digestive,  and  assimilating  powers.  Those 
who  have  hearty  appetites  will  thrive  on  provisions  which 
would  starve  those  who  have  them  not — delicate  valetudina- 
rians, with  whom  the  Church  abounds.  The  kind  of  food 
necessary  in  special  instances,  the  amount  suitable  for  par- 
ticular times,  the  manner  of  serving  it  in  all  cases — these 
are  points  of  immense  importance,  and  successful  attention  to 
them  will  elicit  all  the  intellectual  and  moral  powers  of  a 
minister,  occupy  his  time,  exercise  his  holy  ingenuity,  tax  his 
patience,  demand  his  prayers,  and  provoke  the  almost  despair- 
ing exclamation,  "  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?" 

Catechetical  instruction  rests  on  a  similar  basis,  and  has 
also  its  proper  specific  application.  It  belongs  inherently  to 
tlic  pastoral  office — unless  any  one  will  suppose  that  it  is  the 
business  of  a  shepherd  to  take  care  of  the  sheep,  but  that  he 
may  leave  the  lambs  to  take  care  of  themselves.  It  is  obvious 
that  instruction  diflfercnt  from  that  of  the  pulpit  is  indispen- 
sable for  children  and  other  novices  in  religion.  The  greatest 
lights  of  the  Church  have  testified  that  it  requires  great  wis- 
dom, and  skill,  and  talent,  and  tact,  and  painstaking  perse- 
verance to  teach  the  young.  The  pastor,  therefore,  cannot 
perform  this  work  by  proxy.  He  has  not  catechized  the  chil- 
dren of  his  charge  when  he  has  merely  put  a  catechetical 
primer  into  their  hands.  However  serviceable  a  catechetical 
manual  may  be,  and  really  is,  the  instruction  in  question  is 
rather  oral  than  otherwise,  as  indeed  is  indicated  by  the  term 


XXvi  INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY. 

Karrixf]OL^,  from  Kara,  intensive,  and  rixo^,  (whence  ouv  word 
echo,)  a  sound.  The  catechumen  repeats,  or  echoes,  what  the 
catechist  announces;  and  the  repetition  must  go  on  until 
the  former  shall  comprehend  the  instruction.  This  does  not 
necessarily  require  the  form  of  question  and  answer,  but  it 
very  naturally  runs  into  it.  The  pastor  has  not  discharged 
his  duty  to  the  children  when  he  has  told  their  parents  to 
catechize  them,  or  formed  them  into  schools,  or  classes,  to  be 
taught  by  others  an  hour  on  the  Sabbath.  Assistance  of  this 
sort  is  not  to  be  despised.  In  the  primitive  Church  the 
bishop  secured  the  aid  of  deacons,  exorcists,  and  others,  as 
catechists,  to  enable  him  to  make  full  proof  of  his  ministry 
among  the  young;  but  he  never  dreamed  that  their  services  were 
substitutionary  of  his  own,  but  only  auxiliary  to  them.  He 
considered  it  his  business  to  make  them  apt  to  teach,  that 
they  might  assist  him  in  teaching  the  young.  The  responsi- 
bility lay  upon  him.  He  had  to  do  as  much  as  he  could  in 
his  own  proper  person,  and  then  to  do  as  much  more  as  pos- 
sible by  proxy.  The  Fathers  attached  immense  importance  to 
this  duty.  "A  good  life,"  says  Clement,  "is  begun  in  cate- 
chizing." "  Let  us  persevere  in  catechizings,"  says  Cyril. 
Luther  laid  a  greater  stress  on  the  catechetical  instruction  of 
the  young  than  on  the  homiletical  instruction  of  adults.  He 
published  a  catechism,  which  Vinet  greatly  eulogizes,  and  out 
of  which  the  Moravians  diligently  instructed  their  children. 
The  leaders  of  the  Reformed  Church  on  the  Continent  at- 
tached great  importance  to  this  work,  as  may  be  seen  in  their 
writings  and  synodal  acts.  So  also  did  Cranmer  and  the 
other  fathers  of  the  Church  of  England.  Archbishop  Seeker 
prepared  a  model  for  catechizing,  which  has  been  recom- 
mended by  the  authorities  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States.  Bishop  Jeremy  Taylor  wrote 
largely  on  the  subject,  and  scrupled  not  to  say,  "  Catechizings 
are  our  best  preachings."    The  Puritans  were  very  assiduous 


INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY.  XXVll 

in  their  discharge  of  this  duty,  ami  urged  it  upon  pastors  as, 
of  paramount  importance,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  Discourses 
of  Thomas  Watson  and  others,  on  the  Assembly's  Catechism. 
In  the  counter-lveformation,  the  Papists  laid  special  stress  on 
catechizing.  After  noticing  the  attention  paid  to  this  duty 
by  the  Jews  and  Christian  fiithers,  Dr.  Donne  says,  "  Go  as 
low  as  can  be  gone,  to  the  Jesuits ;  and  that  great  catechizer 
among  them,  Canisius,  says,  We,  we  Jesuits  make  catechizing 
our  profession.  And  in  that  profession,  says  he,  we  have  St. 
Basil,  St.  Augustin,  St.  Ambrose,  St.  Cyril,  in  our  society. 
And  they  have  him  who  is  more  than  all;  for,  as  he  says 
rightly,  Christ's  own  preaching  was  a  catechizing.  I  pray 
God  that  Jesuit's  conclusion  of  that  epistle  of  his  be  true 
still :  If  nothing  else,  yet  this  alone  should  provoke  us  to  a 
greater  diligence  in  catechizing,  that  our  adversaries  the  Pro- 
testants do  spend  so  much  time,  as  he  says,  day  and  night  in 
catechizing.  That  man,"  continues  the  eloquent  old  Dean, 
"  may  sleep  with  a  good  conscience,  of  having  discharged  his 
duty  in  the  ministry,  that  hath  preached  in  the  forenoon,  and 
catechized  after.  Will  any  man  doubt  whether  he  be  painful 
in  his  ministry,  that  catechizes  children  and  servants  in  the 
sincere  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  The  Roman  Church  did 
as  they  saw  us  do :  they  came  to  that  order  in  the  Council  of 
Trent,  that  upon  Sundaj-s  and  holidays  they  should  preach 
in  the  forenoon  and  catechize  in  the  afternoon."  Ranke  tells 
us  that  Augier,  the  great  orator,  whom  the  Jesuits  opposed 
to  the  Huguenots,  published  a  catechism  which  "  had  prodi- 
gious success  :  within  the  space  of  eight  years  38,000  copies 
of  it  were  sold  in  Paris  alone."  In  view  of  all  this,  which 
is  but  a  glance  at  the  subject,  it  is  marvellous  how  cateche- 
tical instruction  could  ever  have  fallen  into  such  neglect  as  it 
has  among  the  pastors  of  the  various  Protestant  communions. 
Well  might  John  Wesley  exclaim,  "What  a  pity  that  all  our 
preachers  have  not  the  zeal  and  wisdom  to  catechize  I" 


XXVlll  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

Catechetical  preaching  should  consist  in  a  regular  training 
of  the  young,  according  to  their  baptismal  vows.  By  their 
baptism  they  are  bound  to  renounce  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
the  devil;  to  believe  all  the  articles  of  the  Christian  faith; 
and  to  keep  God's  holy  will  and  commandments.  But  how 
can  they  do  all  these  things  unless  some  man  guide  them  ? 
And  who  shall  lead  them,  and  teach  them  their  duty  in  all 
these  respects,  but  the  pastors  and  teachers  of  the  Church  ? 
The  whole  Christian  course  is  embraced  in  these  requisitions — 
repentance,  faith,  and  holiness.  And  are  these  great  inter- 
ests to  be  neglected  by  ministers  on  the  ground  that  parents 
and  Sunday-school  teachers  will  attend  to  them  ?  How  many 
parents  are  there  that  are  utterly  unqualified  to  teach  their 
children  !  And  how  few  Sunday-school  teachers  know  how 
to  do  it  aright !  It  would  seem  to  be  less  unreasonable  for 
parents  and  others  to  baptize  their  children,  and  then  hand 
them  over  to  pastors  for  instruction  in  the  baptismal  covenant, 
than  for  pastors  to  baptize  them,  and  then  leave  them  to  be 
instructed  by  others.  Of  course  it  is  the  duty  of  parents  to 
bring  up  their  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord ;  but  it  is  the  duty  of  ministers  to  see  that  they  do  it, 
and  to  aid  them  in  their  efforts.  We  do  not  see  why  minis- 
ters should  watch  for  the  souls  of  their  adult  members  as 
those  who  must  give  account,  and  yet  neglect  the  children  on 
whom  they  have  placed  the  sign  and  seal  of  the  covenant, 
unless  these  "  little  ones"  are  not  worth  accounting  for  to  the 
great  Head  of  the  Church !  What  if  it  should  be  the  case 
that  the  good  Shepherd  knows  every  lamb,  as  well  as  every 
sheep  of  his  fold,  and  in  intrusting  the  flock  to  the  superin- 
tendency  of  under-shepherds,  expects  them  to  feed  his  lambs 
as  well  as  his  sheep :  suppose  they  despise  or  neglect  these 
little  ones,  will  they  be  able  to  render  up  their  account  with 
joy  and  not  with  grief?  The  neglect  of  this  training  of  chil- 
dren, on  the  basis  of  the  baptismal  covenant,  gives  great  ad- 


INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY.  XXIX 

vantage,  says  Bishop  Burnet,  to  those  who  reject  infant  bap- 
tism ;  and  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  add  that  due  attention 
to  it  will  do  more  to  support  this  scriptui'al  ordinance  than 
polemical  defences,  however  important  they  may  be  in  their 
place. 

Let  us  now  notice  the  other  branch  of  the  pastoral  office — 
the  superintendency  of  the  flock.  This  superintendency  is 
both  general  and  special.  The  general  superintendency  is 
compassed  by  the  pastor's  visiting  his  people  as  much  as  may 
be  on  all  ordinary  occasions.  Bishop  Burnet  remarks,  with 
a  slight  sarcasm,  '■^  He  understands  little  of  the  nature  and 
the  obligations  of  the  priestly  office  who  thinks  he  has  dis- 
charged it  by  performing  the  public  appointments.  Every 
man,  especially  if  his  lungs  are  good,  can  read  prayers,  even 
in  the  largest  congregation,  and  if  he  has  a  right  taste,  and 
can  but  choose  good  sermons  out  of  the  many  that  are  in 
print,  he  may  likewise  serve  them  well  that  way  too  !"  The 
pastor  must  make  it  a  point  to  visit  every  family  in  his 
charge,  and  if  possible  every  individual.  And  he  should 
especially  contrive  to  find  access  to  those  who  do  not  profess 
godliness.  Wherever  it  is  practicable,  the  minister  should 
visit  the  people  at  their  homes — whether  once  a  month,  a 
quarter,  or  a  year,  must  be  determined  by  the  conditions  of 
time,  place,  strength,  and  the  like.  Let  the  conversation  on 
such  occasions  be  directly  or  indirectly  of  a  religious  char- 
acter, according  to  circumstances ;  and  let  the  visit  be  hal- 
lowed by  devotional  exercises  when  convenient,  though  this 
point  must  not  be  pressed.  Inquiries  should  be  made  for  the 
children,  kind  words  said  to  them,  books,  papers,  tracts,  and 
the  like,  be  put  into  their  hands.  These  seeds  have  a  gcr- 
minant  power  in  them,  as  may  be  seen  after  many  days.  Con- 
descending and  kind  inquiries  after  the  domestics,  and  plea- 
sant words  spoken  to  them,  will  not  always  be  lost  upon  them 
or  upon  th(!ir  superiors.     A  friendly  call  upon  men  at  their 


XSX  INTRODUCTORy     ESSAY. 

houses  of  business  may  bo  an  effectual  pastoral  visit,  though 
not  a  word  may  be  said  specifically  on  the  subject  of  religion. 
Let  such  visits  be  mere  calls  for  genial  salutation  and  kindly 
recognition,  but  generally  nothing  more.  Let  them  be  brief. 
A  minister  loses  caste  when  he  sits  down  by  the  hour  on 
boxes  and  benches,  talking  on  miscellaneous  topics,  laughing 
and  joking,  whittling  and  smoking,  making  himself,  in  a  sinis- 
ter sense,  the  cynosure  of  every  eye.  He  may  be  considered 
"  a  good  fellow,"  but  the  sharp  edge  of  his  pulpit  ministra- 
tions will  be  blunted  by  such  a  course.  But  the  most  vigilant 
and  faithful  pastor  cannot  make  full  proof  of  his  ministry,  in 
this  interest,  by  domiciliary  visitation.  The  pastor  must 
visit  his  people  at  their  social  assemblies.  He  must  be  with 
them  at  their  meetings  for  prayer,  to  see  that  all  things  be 
done  decently  and  in  order — to  lead  and  to  guide  their  ex- 
ercises, interspersing  edifying  lectures  and  warm  exhortations, 
thus  fanning  and  keeping  alive  the  spirit  of  devotion.  Ho 
must  especially  attend  their  meetings  for  Christian  fellowship. 
He  may  have  assistants — he  ought  to  have  assistants  in  at- 
tending to  this  great  interest ;  but  he  must  be  the  moving- 
spring  of  the  whole  machinery.  These  meetings  will  furnish 
him  the  means  of  maintaining  Church  discipline,  as  well  as 
Christian  communion.  He  can  thus  find  out  how  the  souls 
of  his  people  prosper,  and  can  have  a  word  in  season  for 
every  one,  as  his  particular  case  may  demand.  He  can  call 
them  all  by  their  names,  and  thus  gain  such  a  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  them,  as  we  are  informed  by  ecclesiastical 
history  obtained  in  the  primitive  age  of  the  Church.  A  min- 
ister can  do  a  thousand  important  things  in  the  class-room 
which  he  cannot  do  in  the  pulpit.  Members  of  the  Church, 
too,  who  will  not  attend  meetings  of  this  sort  when  conducted 
by  other  persons,  will  attend  them  when  conducted  by  the 
minister ;  and  in  what  other  way  can  ho  more  profitably  oc- 
cupy a  portion  of  his  time  ? 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY.  XXXI 

The  special  superintendency  consists  in  visits  made  by  the 
pastor  to  his  people  on  all  extraordinary  occasions.  He 
{should  be  present  at  every  marriage  to  bless  the  nuptials.  He 
would  do  well,  moreover,  to  suggest  to  every  bridal  pair  the 
principles  on  which  the  family  institution  may  be  safely,  hap- 
pily, and  permanently  based,  to  assist  them  in  establishing 
the  domestic  oratory,  to  indicate  the  number  and  character  of 
books  suitable  for  a  domestic  library,  according  to  their  means 
and  mental  development,  and  in  other  unmentionable  ways  to 
aid  them  in  taking  a  new  start  in  life. 

Ho  should  avail  himself  of  the  first  suitable  opportunity 
to  oifcr  his  congratulations  Avhcu  a  birth  occurs  in  any  family 
under  his  charge — to  rejoice  with  them  that  a  child  is  born 
into  the  world — assisting  them  in  devout  thanksgiving  for 
the  gracious  Providential  interposition — claiming  the  little 
stranger  as  a  member  of  the  family  of  Christ,  and  placing 
upon  him  the  Saviour's  mark  and  badge  in  hply  baptism,  as 
soon  as  the  parents  can  bring  him  to  the  church  to  dedicate 
him  to  God — and  duly  registering  him  among  the  catechu- 
mens of  his  charge. 

He  should  be  present  as  often  as  may  be  at  fixmily  anni- 
versaries, reunions,  and  the  like,  in  order  to  increase  the 
domestic  joy  by  sharing  it,  and  to  sanctify  it  by  gently  in- 
fusing the  religious  element;  thus  making  those  occasions 
which  too  frequently  develop  a  worldly  spirit  in  the  partici- 
pants, tend  to  their  improvement  in  the  knowledge  and  love 
of  God.  Job,  as  the  priest  of  his  ftimily,  did  well  in  sanc- 
tifying his  children  by  offering  burnt-offerings  for  them,  for 
fear  that  they  might  have  sinned  in  their  festivities;  but  he 
would  probably  have  done  better  if  he  had  been  also  person- 
ally present  on  all  those  occasions. 

A  judicious,  faithful  pastor  can  do  immense  service  in  a 
family,  when  there  are  disturbances  and  threatened  aliena- 
tions between  man  and  wife,  parents  and  children,  superiors 


XXXn  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

and  menials  :  differences  may  be  adjusted,  passions  restrained, 
misunderstandings  rectified,  and  scandals  prevented.  A  min- 
ister of  the  Prince  of  peace  is  never  more  in  his  proper  work 
than  when  he  is  thus  making  families  dwell  together  peace- 
ably in  a  house.  This  is,  however,  an  undertaking  of  great 
difficulty  and  delicacy :  it  will  require  much  caution,  pru- 
dence, self-control,  patience,  and  charity ;  and  there  are  some 
ministers  who  had  better  not  undertake  to  perform  the  task 
in  person,  but  rather  by  a  judicious  prosy,  or,  as  Bishop 
Burnet  suggests,  in  some  cases,  as  '■'•  in  admonishing  men  of 
rank,  it  may  be  often  the  best  way  to  do  it  by  a  letter." 
When  a  pastor  has  the  confidence  of  the  parties,  and  knows 
how  to  keep  within  his  proper  vocation,  he  can  be  of  immense 
service  in  cases  of  this  unpleasant  character. 

A  pastor  can  do  much  good  by  visiting  his  members  when 
they  have  experienced  reverses  in  business :  the  harvests 
have  failed,  banks  have  broken,  patronage  has  fallen  off — in- 
competency, perhaps  dishonesty,  is  charged  on  the  unfortu- 
nate parties — now  is  the  time  for  the  pastor  to  visit  them,  to 
cheer  them,  to  counsel,  encourage,  and  aid  them.  He  may 
not  be  able  to  disentangle  their  affairs,  or  to  give  them  much 
material  aid ;  to  mollify  the  feelings  of  creditors,  or  to  sug- 
gest the  proper  movements  for  the  future ;  but  he  can  show 
a  disinterested  regard  for  their  welfare,  inspire  them  with 
hope,  and  assist  them  in  securing  the  sanctification  of  their 
temporal  adversity  to  their  spiritual  prosperity. 

In  times  of  sickness,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  pastor 
should  be  unfailing  in  his  attendance  on  the  members  of  his 
charge.  '■'■  One  of  the  chief  parts  of  the  pastoral  care," 
says  Bishop  Burnet,  "  is  the  visiting  the  sick ;  not  to  be 
done  barely  when  one  is  sent  for :  he  is  to  go  as  soon  as  he 
hears  that  any  of  his  flock  are  ill."  Of  course,  if  they  are 
not  members  of  the  Church,  and  he  can  have  access  to  them, 
he  ought  to  be  still  more  prompt  in  visiting  them.     Let  the 


INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY.  XXXUl 

pastor  be  with  the  sick  as  much  as  possible,  and  as  far  as 
may  be  consistent  with  the  sanatory  regulations  of  medical 
advisers.  If,  as  is  frequently  the  case  when  children  are 
sick,  he  can  do  nothing  else,  he  can  sympathize  with  the 
family,  and  show  his  concern  for  them ;  and  if  he  is  a  true 
man — as  every  good  pastor  is — that  concern  will  be  real,  and 
not  feigned.  In  some  instances  he  may  extend  to  them  phy- 
sical relief — occasionally,  perhaps  not  often,  by  watching 
with  theni,  procuring  medical  attention,  the  aid  of  nurses,  or 
financial  assistance.  It  were  to  be  wished  that  every  minis- 
ter had  some  acquaintance  with  physiology,  pdthology,  and 
materia  medica — not  that  he  might  invade  the  province  and 
prerogative  of  the  physician ;  rather,  indeed,  to  prevent  a 
pragmatism  of  this  sort — as  ''  fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear 
to  tread" — but  to  suggest  such  professional  assistance  as  may 
not  have  been  thought  necessary  by  the  friends  of  the  sick, 
or,  in  extreme  cases,  to  supply  the  lack  of  medical  attend- 
ance. He  should  be  present  too  on  such  occasions,  as  the 
confidence  reposed  in  him  makes  him  a  suitable  person  to 
suggest  the  adjustment  of  temporal  afiairs,  writing  letters, 
making  wills,  and  the  like.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add, 
that  in  this  last  matter  he  should  be  exceedingly  careful  not 
to  interfere  with  the  free  disposal  of  a  dying  man's  property  : 
if  he  has  not  made  his  will  in  health,  and  constituted  benev- 
olent and  pious  institutions  in  part  the  testamentary  bene- 
ficiaries of  his  estate,  it  is  very  questionable  if  a  minister  of 
religion  should  dictate  to  him  in  the  premises,  when  he  is 
fast  approaching  his  end.  The  honor  of  religion  is  worth 
more  than  the  profit  that  will  accrue  to  it  from  any  legacies, 
and  it  must  not  be  compromised  by  any  movement  on  the 
part  of  its  ministers  which  will  bring  their  motives  under  sus- 
picion. The  main  business  of  a  pastor  in  the  house  of  afflic- 
tion is  to  administer  spiritual  aid.  He  ought  to  make  this  a 
special  study.     To  some  the  duty  is  more  difficult  than  to 


XSXIV  INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY. 

others ;  but  if  a  man  cannot  qualify  himself  for  its  perform- 
ance, it  would  be  better  perhaps  for  him  to  seek  a  release 
from  his  ministerial  vow  :  he  has  mistaken  his  vocation.  The 
pastor  should  study  the  various  characters  of  men  ;  the  effects 
of  different  diseases  upon  both  mind  and  body ;  the  modes 
of  approaching  men  under  peculiar  circumstances  ;  the  proper 
method  of  introducing  religious  conversation ;  the  suitable 
topics  to  be  presented.  He  should  have  treasured  up  in  his 
memory  the  most  salient  and  serviceable  passages  of.  Scrip- 
ture, hymns,  etc.,  to  be  recited  or  sung  as  occasion  may  sug- 
gest. He  should  know  how  to  probe  the  conscience  without 
needlessly  wounding  the  feelings,  to  excite  fear  without  in- 
ducing despair,  to  inspire  tranquillity  without  saying  "  Peace," 
when  there  is  no  peace.  He  should  thus  seek  the  conversion 
or  spiritual  improvement  and  comfort  of  the  sick,  with  a 
reference  at  the  same  time  to  the  religious  welfare  of  their 
friends.  Indeed,  in  many  instances  this  should  be  the  matter 
of  primary  concern.  By  the  admonitions  and  devotions  of  a 
sick-room,  thousands  of  ungodly  persons  who  never  enter  a 
house  of  public  worship  may  be  reached.  The  sick  may 
not  much  need,  or  may  not  be  much  benefited  by  those  pas- 
toral visits,  when  their  relatives  and  attendants  may  receive 
impressions  and  hear  words  whereby  they  may  be  saved. 
Even  the  kindly  feeling  and  sympathy  of  a  good  pastor  will 
win  upon  the  ungodly  friends  of  the  sick  for  whom  he  is 
thus  interested,  when  all  other  means  shall  have  failed. 

But  death  comes  to  every  family.  The  pastor  may  not  re- 
joice when  he  comes;  nevertheless,  the  unwelcome  messen- 
ger frequently  proves  his  valuable  and  efficient  assistant. 
Let  the  minister  never  fail  to  go  to  the  house  of  mourning. 
Let  him  be  sure  to  weep  with  them  that  weep,  even  if  he 
should  not  always  rejoice  with  them  that  do  rejoice.  Let 
him  be  present  to  offer  Christian  condolence  to  the  bereaved  : 
he  can  imitate  his  Master,  by  weeping  with  the  sisters  at  the 


INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY.  XXXV 

tomb  of  their  brother,  though  he  cannot  comfort  them  by 
saying,  ''  Lazarus,  come  forth !"  Let  him  never  grudge 
to  preach  a  funeral  sermon  for  an  infant  or  a  servant — let 
him  perform  obsequies  for  saint  and  sinner.  Death  is  a  groat 
Koheleth — in  both  senses :  a  powerful  preacher  himself,  and 
a  wonderful  assembler  of  the  people.  Men  who  will  never 
go  to  church  for  a  Sunday  sermon,  will  listen  to  one  at  a 
funeral.  If  the  preacher  is  wise,  he  will  choose  out  accept- 
able words,  hitting  words,  words  profitable  for  doctrine,  for 
reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness,  to  be 
used  on  such  occasions.  He  will  have  a  variety  of  subjects 
studied  and  prepared,  so  as  to  be  ready  for  any  emergency, 
having  nothing  to  do  when  suddenly  called  on  to  exercise  this 
function  of  his  office,  but  to  inake  a  special  application  to  the 
particular  case.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  suggest  that,  as  a 
general  rule,  it  is  best  to  say  but  little  concerning  the  de- 
ceased. In  many  cases  the  company  in  attendance  will  be 
better  acquainted  with  the  main  points  in  his  history  than 
the  preacher  can  be ;  and  it  seems  absurd  to  ask  them  for 
biographical  items  merely  to  state  them  publicly  to  the  parties 
who  furnish  them.  There  are,  of  course,  exceptional  cases, 
such  as  public  men,  whose  lives  may  have  been  of  general 
interest,  and  whose  funeral  discourses  should  be  prepared 
with  more  labor  and  care  than  can  be  given  them  in  the  short 
interval  between  their  death  and  burial.  In  some  cases  too 
the  period  of  sickness  may  have  been  very  edifying,  and  the 
death  may  have  been  very  triumphant — a  judicious  minister 
may  then  descend  to  particulars  of  personal  interest  more 
than  on  ordinary  occasions.  In  no  instance,  probably,  would 
the  pastor  be  justified  in  saying  that  the  man  whose  body  he 
is  burying  had  died  in  sin  and  gone  to  perdition.  It  is 
his  business  to  state  clearly  the  prerequisites  of  salvation, 
and  leave  his  auditors  to  deduce  any  unfavorable  inference 
which  an  ungodly  life  and  melancholy  death  might  warrant 


XXXVl  INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY. 

or  demand.  His  great  design  is  practical  improvement. 
Even  condolence  itself  must  be  secondary  to  this.  Many, 
indeed,  attend  funerals,  even  when  they  are  properly  solem- 
nized, without  bearing  away  any  permanent  salutary  impres- 
sions. But  the  same  may  be  said  of  thousands  who  constantly 
attend  on  sermons  in  the  sanctuary.  Yet  it  pleases  God  by 
the  foolishness  of  preaching  to  save  men ;  and  experience 
proves  that  when  God  makes  men's  hearts  soft  by  his  provi- 
dence, they  are  more  likely  to  take  the  saving  impressions 
of  his  grace.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  remark  that  in  con- 
ducting funeral  services,  the  pastor  should  be  specially  care- 
ful that  there  be  nothing  awkward  in  his  manner :  let  there 
be  no  balk  here.  Let  the  service  be  read  in  proper  order, 
according  to  the  ritual,  and  with  due  solemnity.*  An  early 
visit  to  the  house  of  mourning,  after  the  interment,  will  in 
most  instances  be  gratefully  appreciated,  and  not  unfrequently 
be  promotive  of  beneficial  results.  The  pastor,  however, 
must  be  careful  not  to  deal  too  much  in  the  commonplaces 
of  comfort  and  sympathy ;  and  especially  must  he  be  cautious 
in  administering  consolation  to  those  whose  friends  have  died 
in  their  sins.  Grief,  however  intense,  must  not  be  mollified 
at  the  expense  of  truth.  There  are  seasons  when  silence  is 
the  best  sympathy,  and  the  bereaved  sufferers  must  be  quietly 
commended  to  the  mourner's  God. 

But  these  suggestions  must  close. 

What  an  extensive,  multifarious  work  is  that  which  the 
pastor  is  called  to  perform  !  Were  he  called  to  preach  alone, 
to  do  this  as  it  ought  to  be  done,  and  as  often  as  most  pastors 

*  The  minister  should  precede  the  corpse  to  the  grave,  standing 
at  the  head  of  it  uncovered  when  reading  the  service  there — gently 
interfering  to  prevent  mistakes  and  unseemly  movements  in  those 
cases  where  the  attendants  may  chance  to  be  lacking  in  any  respect, 
60  that  there  may  be  nothing  to  jar  the  feelings  of  bereaved  friends, 
or  others. 


INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY.  XXXVU 

have  to  do  it,  would  seem  to  be  enough  to  occupy  all  a  min- 
ister's time  and  thought.  As  he  is  constantly  giving  out,  he 
must  be  constantly  putting  in,  unless,  as  South  expresses  it, 
he  be  content  to  ''turn  broker  in  divinity,"  that  is,  a  dealer 
in  old  household  goods,  having  nothing  new  in  his  treasure ; 
whereas  the  good  householder  brings  forth  both  old  and  new, 
by  which  Christ  did  not  mean,  says  the  wise  and  witty  di- 
vine, "  that  he  should  have  a  hoard  of  old  sermons  (whoso- 
ever made  thom*)  with  a  bundle  of  new  opinions ;  for  this 
certainly  would  have  furnished  out  such  entertainment  to  his 
spiritual  guests  as  no  rightly-disposed  palate  could  ever  relish, 
or  stomach  bear."  "  Because  the  preacher  was  wise,  he  still 
taught  the  people  knowledge,  and  sought  to  find  out  accept- 
able words,  even  words  of  truth."  But  he  must  not  only  do 
this,  both  in  catechizing  and  sermonizing,  he  must  also,  as 
far  as  possible,  personally  superintend  all  the  members  of  his 
flock.  He  must  not  only  instruct  all  who  come  to  him,  he 
must  go  to  all  within  his  reach,  and  use  all  the  means  in  his 
power  to  bring  the  careless  and  indocile  under  instruction. 
Those  who  need  it  most  must  be  the  special  objects  of  his 
solicitude. 

What  an  important  work  is  this ! — feeding  the  flock  of 
God  !  The  government  of  states  and  empires  is  not  so  im- 
portant as  the  care  of  the  Church — the  salvation  of  souls — 
souls  for  whom  Christ  died — souls  that  must  live  for  ever 
in  bliss  or  in  woe  !  Pastors  watch  for  souls  !  How  express- 
ive is  that  time-honored,  much-abused  title  of  a  pastor, 
curate,  one  who  is  charged  with  the  nira  nnimarum,  the 
cure,  or  care,  of  souls  ! 

*  Pulpit  plagiaries  seem  to  have  been  as  common  in  former  times 
as  now,  from  the  frequency  with  which  they  were  satirized: 
Who  knows  not  smooth-lipp'd  Plausible  ? 
A  preacher  deenicii  of  greatest  note 
For  preaching  that  which  others  wrote. — Churchill. 


SXXVin  INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY. 

What  a  responsible  work  !  Pastors  watch  for  souls  as  they 
that  must  give  account.  They  are  in  the  direct  employ  of 
God — they  act  in  the  stead  of  Christ.  They  are  his  under- 
shepherds.  How  great,  then,  their  responsibility  !  "  Son  of 
man,  I  have  made  thee  a  watchman  unto  the  house  of  Israel ; 
therefore  hear  the  word  at  my  mouth,  and  give  them  warning 
from  me."  Warn  them,  and  then  whether  they  do  good  or 
evil,  whether  they  live  or  die,  thou  hast  delivered  thy  soul. 
Warn  them  not,  and  their  blood  shall  be  required  at  thy 
hand.  "  For  they  are  the  sheep  of  Christ  which  he  bought 
with  his  death,  and  for  whom  he  shed  his  blood.  And  if  it 
shall  happen  that  any  of  them  do  take  any  hurt  or  hindrance 
by  reason  of  your  negligence,  ye  know  the  greatness  of 
the  fault,  and  also  the  horrible  punishment  that  shall  ensue." 
Pregnant  are  the  words  of  Jeremy  Taylor :  '■'■  Be  sure  there 
is  not  a  carcass,  nor  a  skin,  nor  a  lock  of  wool,  nor  a  drop  of 
milk  of  the  whole  flock,  but  God  shall  for  it  call  the  idle 
shepherd  to  a  severe  account.  I  remember,"  he  adds,  *•  a 
severe  saying  of  St.  Gregory,  One  damnation  is  not  enough 
for  an  evil  shepherd ;  but  for  every  soul  who  dies  by  his  evil 
example,  or  pernicious  carelessness,  he  deserves  a  new  death, 
a  new  damnation.  Jacob  kept  the  sheep  of  Laban,  and  we 
keep  the  sheep  of  Christ,  and  Jacob  was  to  answer  for  every 
sheep  that  was  stolen,  and  every  lamb  that  was  torn  by  the 
wild  beast ;  and  so  shall  we  too,  if  by  our  fault  one  of  Christ's 
sheep  perish." 

But  what  an  honorable  work  is  this !  It  is  in  substance 
the  work  which  priests  and  prophets  performed  in  ancient 
times.  It  is  the  work  which  Christ  himself  performed  when 
on  earth.  It  is  the  work  which  he  commissioned  his  apos- 
tles to  perform.  And  every  true  pastor  is  a  successor  of  the 
apostles  in  the  exercise  of  this  their  ordinary  and  transmis- 
sible function.  Pastors  supplement  and  extend  the  ministry 
of  their  great  Master.     He  is  now  in  heaven — they  represent 


INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY.  XXXIX 

him  on  the  earth  :  what  an  honor  is  this !  See  what  Paul 
thought  of  this  work  :  "  Unto  nic,  who  am  less  than  the  least 
of  all  saints,  is  this  grace  given,  that  I  should  preach  among 
the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ."  ''And  I 
thank  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  who  hath  enabled  nie,  for  that 
he  counted  me  faithful,  putting  me  into  the  ministry."  So 
addressing  the  bishops,  or  pastors,  at  Ephesus — ''  Take  heed, 
therefore,  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock  over  the  which 
the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers,  to  feed  the  Church 
of  God,  which  he  hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood.  There- 
fore, watch  and  remember,  that  by  the  space  of  three  years 
I  ceased  not  to  warn  every  one  night  and  day  with  tears.  I 
kept  back  nothing  that  was  profitable  unto  you,  but  have 
showed  you,  and  have  taught  you  publicly  and  from  house  to 
house."  This  pastoral  work  must  be  an  honorable  as  well 
as  a  responsible  one,  since  it  is  spoken  of  in  such  terms  by 
one  who  "  was  not  a  whit  behind  the  very  chiefcst  apostles," 
and  second  to  no  mere  man  that  ever  lived  upon  the  earth. 
We  may  well  conceive  highly  of  its  vastness,  importance,  re- 
sponsibility, and  dignity,  if  he  taxed  his  powers  to  the  utmost 
to  fulfil  its  duties,  and  was  forced  to  exclaim,  ''  Who  is  sufli- 
cient  for  these  things  ?"  He  considered  it  a  ministration 
which  exceeds  all  others  in  glory.  And  in  the  same  style  it 
is  spoken  of  by  him  who  was  considered  the  chief  of  the 
apostles,  being  first  in  the  sacred  college,  to  whom  the  great 
Shepherd  said  in  impressive  terms,  "  Feed  my  lambs !"  and 
with  the  emphasis  of  repetition,  "  Feed  luy  sheep  !"  That 
the  apostle  had  a  clear,  if  not  a  full  conception  of  the  mag- 
nitude and  dignity  of  the  work,  appears  from  his  own  lan- 
guage, with  which  we  will  close  these  reflections :  "  The 
elders  which  are  among  you  I  exhort,  who  am  also  an  elder, 
and  a  witness  of  the  suff'crings  of  Christ,  and  also  a  partaker 
of  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed.  Feed  the  flock  of  God 
which  is  among  you,  taking  the  oversight  thereof,  not  by  con- 


xl  INTRODUCTORY     ESSAY. 

straint,  but  willingly ;  not  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind; 
neither  as  being  lords  over  God's  heritage,  but  being  en- 
samples  to  the  flock.  And  when  the  chief  Shepherd  shall 
appear,  ye  shall  receive  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not 
away." 


PASTORAL   THEOLOGY. 


INTRODUCTION. 

§  I. — SUBJECT    DEFINED. — WHAT   IS   THE   MINISTER  OP  THE 
GOSPEL? — THE    IDEAL    MINISTER. 

We  have  already  defined  practical  theology.  It  is  an  art 
resulting  from  a  science,  or  science  resolving  itself  into  art. 
It  is  the  art  of  practically  applying,  in  the  ministry,  the 
knowledge  acquired  in  the  three  other  purely  scientific  re- 
gions of  theology.  It  seems,  then,  that  we  might  very  justly 
give  the  name  of  Pastoral  Theology  to  that  collection  of 
rules  or  directions  which  we  have  denominated  Practical 
Theology.  But  although  the  idea  of  a  pastor,  seelsorgcr,* 
and  of  the  pastorate,  governs  and  embraces  all  parts  of  prac- 
tical theology,  we  may  also  isolate  it,  and  consider  it  apart 
as  a  moral  element  which  is  not  only  found  in  each  separate 
part  of  practical  theology,  but  which  itself,  as  distinguished 
from  Catechetics  and  Homiletics,"]'  forms  a  separate  region,  a 
special  object  of  study. 

*  One  of  the  German  equivalents  for  pastor.  Literally,  ojie  who 
takrs  care  of  the  soul. — Ed. 

■j-  Wc  might  add  Liturgies ;  but  the  small  space  which  we  give  to 
this  part  induces  us  to  include  it  in  our  course  of  theology  or  pas- 
tornl  prudence.     As  regards  ecclesiastical  right,  which  might  have 

(41) 


42  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

[The  expressions  pastoral  duties  and  pastoral  prudence 
are  incomplete.  They  present  the  subject  too  much  from 
the  standpoint  of  art — in  a  merely  practical  point  of  view. 
This,  however,  is  not  the  only  aspect  to  be  taken ;  the  specu- 
lative side  must  find  its  place :  action  is  the  last  result  of 
speculation,  but,  whatever  be  the  nature  of  the  action,  the 
preparation  for  it  will  not  be  sufficient  if  it  has  been  con- 
sidered alone  :  disinterested  study  is  demanded.  We  ought 
not  to  study  the  theory  of  an  evangelical  ministry  merely  in 
order  to  know  what  we  have  to  do ;  we  must  also  study  it  as 
a  fact  presented  to  us,  and  which  claims  our  acquaintance. 
Disinterested  speculation  is  of  the  very  highest  advantage. 
He  who  has  only  regarded  the  various  elements  of  his  pro- 
fession as  they  are  presented  to  him  in  active  life,  will  act 
neither  with  liberty,  with  intelligence,  nor  with  profundity. 
For  these,  among  other  reasons,  we  call  this  course  a  Theory 
of  Evangelical  Ministry.] 

Perhaps,  however,  the  distinction  here  introduced  is  not  a 
true  one.  Perhaps  Catechetics,  Homiletics,  etc.,  are  not,  in 
their  substantial  nature,  different  from  Pastoral  Theology. 
Yet,  because  of  the  extent  of  these  parts,  of  the  details 
which  they  demand,  and  of  the  disproportioned  space  which, 
if  treated  in  the  whole  extent  of  their  scope,  they  would 
necessarily  occupy  in  a  course  on  Pastoral  Theology,  we  de- 
tach them,  in  order,  by  a  more  deliberate  study,  to  master 
them  more  easily.  We  shall,  however,  be  on  our  guard 
against   the   notion   that  the   foremost  of  these   categories 

foi-  its  object  the  comparative  study  of  different  ecclesiastical  legisla- 
tions or  constitutions,  and  which,  in  this  sense,  is  a  science,  it  be- 
comes an  art,  and  consequently  a  part  of  practical  theology,  so  far 
as  it  gives  practical  guidance  to  the  pastor  in  the  observance  and 
execution  of  the  ecclesiastical  laws  of  the  community  to  -which  he 
belongs.  The  little  which  we  shall  say  of  it  will  find  its  appropriate 
place  in  the  course. 


INTRODUCTION.  43 

represents  a  whole,  or  even  a  reality :  the  reality  is  only 
found  in  the  collected  view  of  the  three  functions — worship, 
preaching,  catechetical  instruction.  The  minister  fulfils  all 
these  at  once  by  the  mere  circumstance  of  his  being  a  minis- 
ter :  he  would  not  be  a  minister  did  he  not  unite  them  all. 
Not  that  these  spheres  may  not  be  distinguished  and  even 
separated,  but  never  in  an  exclusive  manner,  that  is  to  say, 
[in  such  a  way]  that  any  one  who  occupies  the  one  sphere  is 
excluded  from  the  rest ;  for  they  mutually  suppose  and  in- 
volve each  other. 

Nevertheless,  the  idea  of  this  unity  has  its  date :  it  is 
Christian.  No  other  religion  has  either  conceived  of  or  real- 
ized it. 

In  the  Old  Testament  the  office  of  priest  and  that  of  pro- 
phet were  distinct  and  separated.  The  distinction  belongs 
to  the  Old  Testament,  the  identification  belongs  to  the  New. 
The  two  systems  are  characterized  by  these  two  facts.  A 
perfect  harmony  between  the  form  and  the  idea  did  not  exist, 
and  could  not  arrive  till  after  the  introduction  of  the  spiritual 
law,  the  law  of  liberty.  In  these  two  features,  in  tlicsc  two 
distinct  plans,  are  exemplified  the  letter  which  kills,  and  the 
spirit  which  gives  life.  The  economy  which  was  to  unite 
these  into  one  whole  was  also  to  unite  in  one  man  the  charac- 
ter of  priest  and  that  of  prophet. 

On  this  point  the  primitive  Church  presents  us  a  phenome- 
non which  corresponds  to  the  entire  spirit  of  the  Christian 
system,  which  did  not  hastily  repudiate  all  the  traditions  of 
the  theocracy.  It  divided  the  ministry  into  several  difi"erent 
ministries.  We  do  not  find  that  all  the  ministers  did  the 
same  thing,  nor  that  all  did  all  things.  We  might  believe, 
according  to  Eph.  iv.  11,  and  1  Cor.  xii.  28-30,  that  this 
division  of  labor*  had  been  formally  ordained  by  the  great 

*  There  is  no  reason  to  think  that  this  division  of  labor  was  nbso- 


44  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

Head  of  the  Church ;  but  whether  this  was  actually  the  case, 
or  whether  we  are  only  to  recognize  here  a  providential  dis- 
pensation, or  that  the  distribution  of  extraordinary  gifts 
(^aplaiiara)  explains  this  circumstance,  still  there  is  no 
proof  that  this  distinction,  of  which,  moreover,  it  is  very 
difficult  to  form  a  just  idea,  is  to  be  maintained  as  a  perma- 
nent institution.  In  any  case,  in  order  to  renew  it,  the  cha- 
rismata would  have  to  be  renewed. 

It  is  abundantly  evident  that  men  were  regarded  as  minis- 
ters of  the  Church  whose  qualifications  would  not  allow  them 
to  be  ministers  in  the  sense  in  which  we  employ  the  term. 
There  were  deacons,  appointed  to  serve  tables ;  there  were 
presbyters,  (whence  the  word  priest,  though  not  the  idea,  is 
derived,)  who  did  not  teach  at  all ;  but  it  is  clear,  from  1  Tim. 
v.  17,*  that  those  among  them  who  taught  were  of  the  higli- 

lute  in  its  character.  We  find  (Acts  vi.  10)  that  the  deacon  Stephen 
(ver.  5)  was  a  preacher,  or  prophet.  Administration  of  rites  and 
preaching  the  word  were  separated  in  St.  Paul.  "  Christ  sent  me 
not  to  4)aptize,  but  to  preach  the  gospel."  1  Cor.  i.  17.  Besides, 
this  is  not  a  question  of  rite.  Either  it  is  out  of  the  sphere  of  reli- 
gion, which  cannot  be  admitted,  or  it  is  not  assigned  specially  to  one 
of  these  classes  of  functionaries.  This  is  not,  however,  to  assert 
that  all  may  celebrate  it. 

*  "  Let  the  elders  that  rule  well  be  counted  worthy  of  double 
honor,  especially  they  who  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine." 

[Joseph  Mead,  in  a  Discourse  on  this  text,  (Works,  fol.,  p.  70,) 
says:  "None  of  the  Fathers  which  have  commented  upon  this  place, 
neither  Chrysostom,  Jerome,  Ambrose,  Theodoret,  Primasius,  (Ecu- 
menius,  or  Theophylact,  (as  they  had  no  such,  so)  ever  thought  of 
any  such  lay-elders  to  be  here  meant,  but  priests  only,  which  admin- 
istered the  word  and  sacraments."  By  priest  he  means  presbyter, 
(from  whicli  the  word  is  derived,)  and  not  saccrdos.  He  says  this  is 
the  only  place  on  which  the  Presbyterians  build  their  "  new  con- 
sistory." He  then  proceeds  to  show  "how  many  ways  this  place 
may  be  expounded,  without  importing  any  such  new  elders.  The 
first  is  grounded  upon  the  use  of  the  participle  in  Greek,  which  is 


INTRODUCTION.  45 

est  rank,  and  had  the  highest  repute,  since  the  word  is  the 
grand  instrument  and  the  essential  characteristic  of  the  gos- 
pel dispensation  j  and  it  was,  in  fact,  to  this  class  of  presby- 
ters that  the  title  of  minister  or  pastor  became  finally  appro- 
priated as  their  distinctive  appellation,  and  this  class  has 
absorbed  in  itself  the  functions  of  all  the  other  classes,  so 
that  it  constitutes,  in  itself  alone,  the  ministry  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church. 

often  wont  to  note  the  reason  or  condition  of  a  thing,  and  accord- 
ingly to  be  resolved  by  a  causal  or  conditional  conjunction.  Elders 
that  rule  well,  let  them  be  accounted  worthy  of  double  honor,  and 
that  chiefly  in  respect  or  because  of  their  labor  in  the  word  and  doc- 
trine. And  this  way  goes  Chrysostom,  and  other  Greek  writers. 
A  second  exposition  is  taken  from  the  force  of  KOTriCJvTeg,  which  sig- 
nifies not  simply  to  labor,  but  to  labor  with  much  travail  and  toil. 
Let  elders  that  govern  and  instruct  their  flock  well,  be  counted 
worthy  of  double  honor,  especially  such  of  them  as  take  more  tlian 
ordinary  pains  in  the  word  and  doctrine."  The  third  interpretation 
makes  "the  apostle  speak  here  of  priests  and  deacons:  Let  the 
elders  which  rule  well,  whether  priests  or  deacons,  be  counted 
worthy  of  double  honor ;  but  more  especially  the  priests,  who,  be- 
sides their  government,  labor  also  in  the  word  and  doctrine."  The 
fourth  interpretation  makes  two  sorts  of  elders,  both  priests:  "one 
of  residentiaries,  and  such  aswereafiixed  to  certain  churches,  and  so 
did  govern  and  instruct  their  flock  ;  another  of  such  as  had  no  fixed 
station,  but  travelled  up  and  down  to  preach  the  gospel  where  it  was 
not,  or  to  confirm  the  Churches  where  it  was  already  preached — 
elsewhere  known  by  the  names  of  evangelists  and  doctors,  or  pro- 
phets— both  these  sorts  of  presbyters  were  to  be  counted  worthy  of 
double  honor,  as  well  those  that  ruled  well  as  those  that  travelled  up 
and  down  to  preach  the  gospel,  but  especially  these  latter,  because 
their  pains  were  more  than  the  others."  His  fifth  exposition  gives 
two  sorts  of  elders,  ecclesiastical  and  civil:  q.  d.,  "As  all  elders, 
whether  of  the  commonwealth  or  of  the  Church,  that  rule  well,  axe 
to  be  accounted  worthy  of  double  honor,  so  especially  the  elders  of 
the  Church,  that  labor  in  the  word  and  doctrine."'  Cf.  Wesley  and 
A.  Clarke,  in  loc:  on  the  otiicr  side,  sec  Macknight.— T.  0.  S.] 


46  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

[The  evangelical  ministry  is  essentially  a  ministry  of  the 
word  ;  all  other  ministrations  are  subordinated  to  this ;  they 
are  so  many  modes  of  speaking,  of  declaring  the  word  of 
Grod.  Christianity  is  a  word,  a  thought  of  God,  which  is 
destined  to  become  the  thought  of  man.  Now  word  and 
thought  are  inseparable ;  a  thought  is  an  interior  word,  and 
in  ancient  languages  the  same  term  is  employed  to  express 
both  ideas — Xoyog.  That  grand  revolution,  which  we  call 
the  advent  of  Christ  and  of  the  gospel,  has  not  rejected 
worship  and  symbolism,  but  it  has  spiritualized  it,  has  recon- 
ciled it  to  the  thought,  and  therefore  to  the  word.  The  min- 
ister is  a  man  who  speaks  the  word  of  God ;  he  does  not 
repeat  its  phrases.  The  priest  was  a  slave  ;  but  the  minister 
is  the  free  associate  of  God.  And  as,  through  the  unfortu- 
nate and  necessary  exclusion  of  the  laity,  there  are  no  longer 
ministers  of  alms,  for  example,  of  science,  etc.,  the  minister 
unites  in  himself  all  these  ofl&ces,  because  he  was  already  the 
minister  par  excellence.^ 

The  minister  who  thus  inherits  all  the  different  ministries 
of  the  Church,  has  taken,  in  the  fulness  of  his  qualiBcations 
and  of  his  activity,  the  name  of  jmsfor.  It  is  remarkable 
that,  of  all  others,  this  is  the  name  which  is  most  rarely  ap- 
plied to  the  minister  in  the  New  Testament.* 

What  then  is  the  pastor '( 

The  name  indicates  the  character  of  the  oflSicej  he  feeds; 
he  nourishes  souls  with  a  word  which  is  not  his  own ;  (as  the 
shepherd  nourishes  his  sheep  with  grass  which  he  has  not 
made  to  grow ;)  but  he  feeds  them  by  means  of  his  own  in- 
dividual word,  which  reproduces  the  Divine  word,  and  appro- 


*  In  Eph.  iv.  11,  pastor  is  used  synonymously  with  teacher,  or  in- 
structor. 

[In  some  of  the  Puritan  Churches  the  offices  of  pastor  and  of 
teacher  were  distinct.     The  truth  seems  to  be  that  all  pastors  are 


INTRODUCTION.  47 

priates  it  to  various  needs,  becoming  in  turn  a  word  of  in- 
struction, of  direction,  of  exhortation,  of  reproof,  of  cncou- 
rageuieut,  and  of  consolation. 

[The  word,  then,  is  his  instrument ;  but  this  is  not  all : 
the  pastorate  ought  to  be  conceived  of  as  a  fraternity,  and, 
after  the  example  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  minister  ought  to 
sympathize  with  all  the  interests  and  all  the  sufferings  of  his 
flock.  He  ought  to  be  at  once  almoner,  justice,  and  school- 
master.] 

[Such  is,  in  our  Church,  the  idea  of  a  pastor.  The  Cath- 
olic Church  has  dealt  otherwise  with  the  essential  conception. 
It  was  impossible,  considering  the  sinfulness  of  man,  that 
the  Christian  Church  should,  in  the  very  outset,  escape  the 
temptation  to  take  a  retrograde  course.  This  is  the  declivity 
on  which  we  all  slide :  nothing  is  so  ineradicable  as  the  ten- 
dency to  return  to  that  which  God  has  abolished.]  Chry- 
sostom  already  regarded  the  essential  feature  of  the  pastoral 
office  to  be  the  administration  of  the  sacrament.*  This  was 
a  return  towards  the  ancient  legal  institute,  and  it  is  one  of 
the  first  traces  of  that  exclusive  importance  which  the  Cath- 
olic Church  has  in  more  recent  times  given  to  this  part  of 
the  functions  of  the  ministry.^ 

Among  the  number  and  at  the  head  of  those  relics  of  Ju- 
daism, of  which  Catholicism  is  full,  we  must  undoubtedly 
place  the  dogma  of  the  real  presence.     God  is  really  present 

teachers,  but  not  all  teachers  are  pastors.  Some  consider  pastors 
the  ministers  of  large  urbal  churches,  and  the  teachers  ministers  of 
smaller  country  churches — the  former  being  the  superintendents  of 
the  latter — hence  they  gradually  appropriated  the  title  of  Bishops. 
See  Bloomfield  on  Eph.  iv.  11.— T.  0.  S.] 

*  See  the  beautiful  passage  in  the  De  Sacerdotio,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  4. — 
Appendix,  Note  I. 

I  "  Die  Vorstellung  einer  ubcrmenschlichen  Wiirde  des  geistlichen 
Standes,  schon  im  dritten  Jahrhundert." — Cyprian's  Brief e. 


48  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

in  the  Catholic  worship  as  he  was  in  the  Levitical  worship. 
I  will  venture  to  assert  that,  from  the  point  of  view  occupied 
by  the  spiritual  Christian,  this  resemblance  in  itself  will  suf- 
fice to  condemn  Catholicism.  ''  Though  we  have  known 
Christ  after  the  flesh,  yet  now  henceforth  know  we  him  no 
more."     2  Cor.  v.  16. 

This  accordingly  involved  the  restoration  of  caste;  for 
ritual  forms  may  be  perfectly  well  observed  by  any  individual 
whatever,  so  that  the  personality  is  of  no  importance.  In 
religious  communities  where  the  sacerdotal  idea  is  predomi- 
nant, as  individual  life  is  of  small  account,  so  corporate  dis- 
tinctions must  proportionally  prevail.* 

Among  us,  the  ministry  is  essentially  a  ministri/  of  the 
ivord ;  with  us,  so  far  from  the  word  becoming  a  ritual  form, 
the  ritual  form  becomes  the  word ;  we  take,  in  its  fullest  ac- 
ceptation, the  idea  of  the  apostles  who  traced  back  the  work 
of  the  gospel  to  the  incarnation  of  the  Word,  and  we  do  not 
find  any  thing  too  strong  in  the  words  of  Erasmus :  "Dia- 
holus  concionator :  Satanas,  jier  serpentein  loquens,  seduxit 
humanum  genus :  Deus,  per  Filium  loquens,  reduxit  oves 
erraticas."'\ 

This  ministry  is  essentially  moral,  since  the  word  is  the 
cardinal  principle  in  it,  and  it  does  not  allow  the  word  to  be- 
come materialized  and  transformed  into  ritualism.  It  must 
be  the  action  of  one  soul  on  another  soul,  of  liberty  on  lib- 
erty. Before  all  manifestations  of  itself  it  exists  as  an  en- 
ergy ;  after  all  manifestations  it  remains  such.  The  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  while  it  appears  to  confer  greater  authority 
and  larger  scope  for  action  upon  the  pastor,  has  in  reality 
limited  the  pastoral  office,  by  prescribing  stereotyped  forms 

*  See  Lamennais,  Affaires  de  Rome. 

f  "The  devil  is  a  preacher:  Satan,  speaking  by  the  serpent,  has 
seduced  the  human  race.  God,  speaking  by  his  Son,  has  brought 
back  the  wandering  sheep." — Ecclesiastes,  lib.  i. — Ed. 


INTRODUCTION.  49 

under  which  it  is  to  manifest  itself,*  and  by  prescribing  as 
rites  that  which  ought  to  be  suggested  on  every  separate 
occasion  by  charity  and  wisdom,  according  to  the  require- 
ments of  circumstances.  [In  the  one  case  there  is  a  real 
library ;  in  the  other  case  there  is  only  a  fiction  of  a  library 
carved  in  wood.  Both  connnunities  have  confession  ;  but,  in 
the  one,  confession  is  of  the  heart,  in  the  other  confession  is 
commanded,  and,  moreover,  as  it  ceases  to  be  moral  and  true, 
it  loses  its  reality.  These  are  the  abuses  of  Catholicism,  but 
we  may  not  exaggerate  them  :  Catholicism,  as  it  has  the  cross, 
is  also  acquainted  with  the  gospel  as  a  spiritual  verity. 
Further,  even  among  Catholics,  vivid  protestations  have  been 
raised  against  the  exclusive  predominance  of  ritualism — 
especially  on  the  part  of  the  Jansenists,  who  attach  a  very 
great  importance  to  preaching,  regarding  it  as  the  greatest 
and  most  awful  of  mysteries. f  This  is  a  wide  departure 
from  St.  Augustin,  who  regarded  the  eucharist  alone  as  an 
awful  mystery.  We  may  think  that  there  is  nothing  myste- 
rious in  this  action  of  soul  upon  soul  by  means  of  the  word, 
because  it  is  an  ordinary  thing;  as  if  that  which  is  ordinary 
were  not  often  very  mysterious  and  unfathomable.  The  same 
word  acts  upon  different  minds  in  different  modes.  Doubt- 
less the  character  of  the  individual  very  much  determines 
the  result ;  but  whence  comes  it  that  an  animated  preacher 
frequently  produces  no  effect,  while  a  feeble  preacher  often 
makes  the  deepest  impression  upon  men's  spirits  ?  Why  has 
the  soul  been  reached  by  the  latter,  and  uninfluenced  by  the 
former  ?  How  often  the  conversion  of  a  spirit  which  is  lis- 
tening to  us  depends  upon  the  force  of  a  single  word  !  The 
providential  order  by  virtue  of  which  one  soul,  one  single 

*  It  has  given  a  fixed  form  (o  all  Mic  different  impulses  of  pastoral 
love. 

f  See  the  quotation  from  St.  Cyran. — Appendix,  Note  11. 


50  P  A  S  T  0 11 A  L     T  H  E  O  L  0  G  Y  . 

soul,  is  touched  among  a  crowd  who  remain  cold  and  un- 
moved— is  not  this  one  of  the  deepest  mysteries?  Yes, 
preaching  is  a  mystery,  the  most  profound  of  all — that  which 
discloses  a  multitude  of  other  mysteries.  In  truth,  God  him- 
self is  the  real  speaker ;  man  is  only  an  instrument.] 

The  form  of  the  ministry  therefore  is  the  word.  The  ob- 
ject of  the  ministry  is  to  unite  in  the  school  of  Christ,  "  to 
bring  captive  to  the  obedience  of  Christ,"  the  spirits  which 
are  his  :  it  is  to  perpetuate,  to  extend,  to  deepen  continually 
the  kingdom  of  God  upon  the  earth. 

In  order  to  present  this  idea  under  manifold  aspects,  let 
us,  with  Burnet,*  collect  the  different  names  given  to  the 
ministers  of  the  gospel  in  the  New  Testament.  And  let  us 
first  of  all  remark  that,  in  the  ecclesiastical,  as  in  the  politi- 
cal sphere,  all  names  of  functions,  dignity,  etc.,  have  origin- 
ally quite  another  significance  and  force  from  that  which  they 
possess  when  they  have  been  adopted  by  common  usage,  and 
thus  lost  their  primal  freshness.  Like  proper  names,  they 
are  at  first  expressive  of  true  qualities,  but  afterwards  come 
to  be  merely  arbitrary  signs.  In  the  origin  of  a  truly  origi- 
nal institution,  the  names  of  offices  express  the  duties,  affec- 
tions, hopes  belonging  to  them :  the  soul  has  interpreted 
these  names ;  and  the  name  which  it  has  found  does  not  so 
much  express  a  power  nicely  and  exactly  circumscribed,  a 
legally-defined  attribute,  as  an  energy  to  exercise,  an  idea  to 
realize.  All  true  names  are  adjectives,  which  only  become 
substantives  by  the  lapse  of  time. 

1.  Deacon  (the  word  which  we  translate  by  minister)  sig- 
nifies servant,  while  the  idea  of  libertyj"  is  appended.  The 
term  deacon,  like  all  terms  which  are  attached  to  an  institu- 

*  Burnet's  Discourse  of  the  Pastoral  Care,  p.  44. 
•)■  The  idea  of  Commission — committed  to  a  certain  office — Commis- 
sioner. 


INTRODUCTION.  51 

tion,  instead  of  indicating  what  the  thing  itself  ought  to  be, 
instead  of  expressing  the  ideal  of  the  thing,  does  now  indi- 
cate that  which  the  institution  has  become,  that  which  it  has 
accidentally  been  in  a  certain  time  and  in  special  circum- 
stances, a  form  of  the  thing  rather  than  the  thing  itself  :  the 
ideal  gives  way  to  the  historic  signification,  and  history  be- 
comes a  law  to  the  idea.  The  word  deacon  has  taken  a  spe- 
cial signification,  but  it  was  at  first  general,  and  designated, 
without  distinction,  every  minister  or  servant  of  the  gospel. 
'•  Who  then  is  Paul,  and  who  is  Apollos,  but  deacons  by 
whom  ye  believed,  even  as  the  Lord  gave  to  every  man." 
1  Cor.  iii.  5.  "  Giving  no  offence,  that  the  deaconship  be 
not  blamed."  2  Cor.  vi.  3.  "Whereof  I  was  made  a  deacon, 
according  to  the  gift  of  the  grace  of  God  given  unto  me  by 
the  effectual  working  of  his  power."  Eph.  iii.  7.  "Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord  hath  enabled  me,  for  that  he  counted  me 
faithful,  putting  me  into  the  deaconship."  1  Tim.  i.  12. 
"  The  gospel  .  .  .  whereof  I,  Paul,  am  made  a  deacon."  Col. 
i.  2.3.  For  the  special  and  subsequent  application  of  the 
word,  see  1  Tim.  iii.  8,  "  The  deacons*  must  be  grave." 
1  Tim.  iii.  12,  "Let  the  deacons  be  the  husbands  of  one 
wife,"  and  Rom.  xvi.  1,  "I  commend  unto  you  Phebe,  our 
sister,  which  is  a  deaconess  of  the  church  which  is  at 
Cenchrea." 

W^e  instinctively  regard  this  title,  deacon,  as  a  special  title, 
because  a  particular  institution  is  appropriated  to  this  name ; 
but,  in  the  first  series  of  passages  which  we  have  quoted,  it 
is  no  more  special  than  the  word  dovXo^  (slave,  servant)  in 
Phil.  i.  1,  "  Paul  and  Timotheus,  slaves,  or  servants,  of  Jesus 
Christ."  And  how  is  it  that  the  members  of  the  clergy  do 
not  bear  the  designation  of  douls,  and  the  ministry  that  of 

*  The  New  Testament  of  the  Vandois  ministers  (Lausanne,  1839) 
translates  (he  servants  of  the  Assembly,  Ics  servitcurs  de  I'assembl^e. 


52  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

douly,  as  some  members  of  this  same  clergy  have  taken  the 
name  of  dr.acons,  and  their  function  that  of  diaconate  ? 

2.  Prcshyteros,  (ih.e  ancient  form.)  "Let  the  eWers  that 
rule  well  be  counted  worthy  of  double  honor."  1  Tim.  v.  17. 
"They  sent  it  to  the  elders  by  the  hands  of  Barnabas  and 
Saul."  Acts  xi.  30.  Acts  xv.  passim.  "  From  Miletus  he 
sent  to  Ephesus,  and  called  the  elders  of  the  church."  Acts 
XX.  17.  "  For  this  cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete,  that  thou 
shouldest  .  .  .  ordain  elders  in  every  city."  Titus  i.  5.  "  Is 
any  sick  among  you  ?  let  him  call  for  the  elders  of  the 
church."    James  v.  14. 

Our  versions  commonly  render  irpea^ivrepog  by  pastor,  a 
tei-m  which  is  never  applied  to  ministers,  except  in  Eph.  iv. 
11,  "  He  gave  some  .   .   .  pastors  and  teachers." 

3.  Bishop  occurs  as  synonymous  with  elder  in  Titus  i.  5-7, 
"  That  thou  shouldest  ordain  elders.  .  .  .  For  a  bishop  must 
be  blameless;"  and,  in  Acts  xx.  17,  28,  Paul  calls  together 
the  elders  of  the  church  of  Ephesus,  and  commends  to  their 
care  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made  them 
hishops.  See  moreover  Phil.  i.  1,  "  Paul  and  Timotheus  .  .  . 
to  the  bishops  and  deacons." 

This  does  not  prove  that  some  bishops  might  not  have 
been  placed  as  guardians  of  other  bishops — inspectors  of  in- 
spectors. "Against  an  elder  receive  not  an  accusation,  but 
before  two  or  three  witnesses,"  1  Tim.  v.  19,  and  Titus  i.  5, 
quoted  above.  But  this  did  not  arise  from  any  institution  : 
it  was  a  natural  gradation. 

4.  Apostles,  or  delegates.  "  Our  brethren  .  .  .  they  are 
the  apostles'*"  of  the  churches,  and  the  glory  of  Christ."  2 
Cor.  viii.  23. 

It  is,  however,  to  be  observed  that  this  word  is  applied 

*  Messengers  of  the  assemblies.  Envoyes  dcs  assemhlees.  (Trans- 
lation of  the  Vaudois  ministers.) 


INTRODUCTION.  53 

(Kar^  e^oxTjv)  (emphatically,  pa7'  excellence)  to  those  sent 
immediately  by  Jesus  Christ — Acts  ii.  42,  "  They  continued 
steadfastly  in  the  ajxtstlcs'  doctrine." 

Our  intention  is  not  to  determine  the  particular  work  and 
function  which  is  designated  by  these  several  names.*  We 
believe  that  the  words  elder  and  bishoj)  denote  the  adminis- 
trators of  the  Churches,  whether  they  were  or  were  not 
charged  with  the  functions  of  teaching — a  function  attached 
to  a  gift  or  a  grace,  which  does  not  appear  to  have  deter- 
mined the  nomination  of  elders  or  of  bishops,  since  neither 
of  these  terms  is  to  be  found  in  the  well-known  passages, 
Eph.  iv.  11,  and  1  Cor.  xii.  28-30;  and  as  to  the  word 
droron,  it  has  a  sense  far  more  general,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  far  more  special  than  the  other  two,  designating,  as  it 
does,  either  every  kind  of  labor  for  the  gospel,  or  a  very 
special  office  in  the  Church.  Our  aim  is  only,  without 
stopping  to  distinguish  these  different  applications  of  the 
ministry,  to  exhibit,  by  means  of  these  terms,  the  character- 
istics common  to  all,  the  characteristics  of  the  evangelical 
ministry,  whatever  may  be  the  department  in  which  it  is 
exercised.  What  we  have  found  common  to  these  three 
words,  that  is  to  say,  what  we  have  found  without  leaving 
the  terms  themselves,  and  investigating  their  figurative  im- 
port, are  the  ideas  of  voluntary  service,  of  authority,  (founded, 
in  one  case,  on  age,)  and  oi  supervision.^  But  it  is  probable 
that  the  figurative  expressions  will  teach  us  more ;  for  they 
are  designed,  in  every  subject,  to  reach  a  profounder  depth 
existing  in  the  idea  which  is  not  to  be  attained  to  by  mere 

*  On  this  see  Neander,  Planting,  Book  i.,  ch.  ii.  VuUiemin,  Maurs 
des  Chritiens  pendant  les  Trois  Premiers  Sticks,  p.  178,  et  scq. 

f  To  the  first  series  of  names  M.  Vinet  did  not  add  the  word  apontlc 
till  his  revision  of  his  lectures ;  for  this  reason  doubtless  he  docs  not 
here  lake  up  the  idea  of  a  mUsion  which  is  involved  in  the  fourtli 
title.— Ei). 


54  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

expression.  Let  us  then  refer  to  the  figurative  expressions 
which  undoubtedly  are  applicable  primarily  to  ministers  of 
the  gospel. 

1.  Pastor  is  not,  as  we  might  at  first  be  led  to  believe, 
synonymous  with  the  word  elder,  but  with  the  word  teacher. 
See  Eph.  iv.  11.*  We  have  already  mentioned  that  the  duty 
of  an  elder  or  administrator  is  not  included  in  the  formal 
distribution  of  powers  or  of  gifts  (;!t;apifTjuara)  of  which  we 
have  before  spoken.  Further,  the  passage  in  Eph.  iv.  11 
is  the  only  one  in  which  the  term  pastor  is  directly  applied 
to  ministers  of  the  gospel ;  but  it  is  unquestionably  applied 
to  them  indirectly  when  Jesus  Christ  is  called  the  Shepherd 
(Pastor)  and  Bishop  of  our  souls,  and  when  Jesus  Christ  said 
to  Peter,  "  Feed  my  sheep."    John  xxi.  16,  17. 

The  word  pastor,  taken  in  a  figurative  sense,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Old  Testament;  but  it  is  there  applied  loosely  to  pro- 
phets and  magistrates. f  And,  moreover,  in  the  theocratic 
sense,  magistrates  would  be  pastors,  just  as  the  pastors  would 
be  magistrates.  They  would  be  two  forms  of  the  same  office. 
Nevertheless  the  34th  chapter  of  Ezekiel  (passim)  would 
apply  admirably  to  a  pastor  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the 
term. 

2.  Steward,  or  dispenser.  "  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us  as 
.  .  .  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God.  Moreover,  it  is  re- 
quired in  stewards,  that  a  man  be  found  faithful."  1  Cor.  iv. 
1,2. 

3.  Ambassadors.  "We  are  ambassadors  for  Christ."  2 
Cor.  V.  20. 

*  See  page  46,  note. 

f  JloifiEve^  Muv. — "The  state  is  almost  realized  in  which  religion 
and  justice  go  hand  in  hand  in  the  republic,  and  the  magistrate  as 
well  as  the  priesthood  consecrates  men." — La  Bruyere.  Les  Camc- 
teres ;  the  chapter  entitled  De  quelques  usages.  See  Burnet's  "Dis- 
course of  the  Pastoral  Care,"  p.  45. 


INTRODUCTION.  55 

4.  Angels,  or  messenger.  "  The  seven  stars  are  the  angels 
of  the  seven  Churches."     Rev.  i.  20. 

5.  Guide,  or  rnJer.  "  Obey  them  that  have  rule  over  you." 
(Ileideode  rolg  7)yov[ievoig  vjxojv.)    Heb.  xiii.  17. 

6.  Architect,  or  hiiilder.  "As  a  wise  master-builder,  I  have 
laid  the  foundation."     1  Cor.  iii.  10. 

7.  Laborer.  '*  We  are  laborers  together  with  God  :  ye 
are  God's  husbandry,  ye  are  God's  building."  1  Cor.  iii.  9. 
*'A  man  that  is  an  householder  .  .  .  went  out  ...  to  hire 
laborers  into  his  vineyard."  Matt.  xx.  1.  "The  harvest  truly 
is  plenteous,  but  the  laborers  are  few ;  pray  ye  therefore  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  will  send  forth  laborers  into  the 
harvest."  Matt.  ix.  37,  38.  "  I  have  planted,  Apollos 
watered,  but  God  gave  the  increase."     1  Cor.  iii.  6. 

8.  Soldier.  "  Kpaphroditus  .  .  .  my  fellow-soldier."  Phil, 
ii.  25.  "  Endure  hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ." 
2  Tim.  ii.  3. 

Let -us  remark  first,  that  of  all  the  designations  by  which 
we  might  expect  to  find  the  minister  of  religion  named  or 
characterized,  there  is  only  one  which  is  wanting  in  the  New 
Testament,  and  that  is  the  word  priest,  although  the  name 
has  been  furnished  by  the  Christian  terra  presbi/teros.  Priests 
may  find  a  place  in  the  spiritual  economy  of  religions  which 
are  without  the  true  and  sovereign  Priest ;  there  can  be  none 
in  the  religion  which  has  received  or  believes  in  him.  There 
no  one  person  is  a  priest,  because  all  are  priests ;  and  it  is 
remarkable  that  this  word  is  only  applied  to  Christians  in 
general  under  the  gospel  dispensation.  See  1  Peter  ii.  9. 
"  Ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,"*  in  which 
we  find  a  fulfilment  of  Isaiah's  prophecy,  (chap.  Ixi.  6,)  "Ye 
shall  be  named  priests  of  the  Lord :  men  shall  call  you  the 
ministers  of  our  God." 

*  Baai?ietov  lepurevfia, — See  Neander's  "Planting,"  Book  iii.,  ch.  i. 


56  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

To  recover  this  idea  of  the  ancient  sacrifice,  which  has 
been  abolished  in  the  supreme  and  eternal  sacrifice  of  Jesus 
Christ,  it  has  been  necessary  to  create  a  sacrifice — to  perpe- 
tuate that  which  is  unique  and  complete. 

For  us,  who  do  not  believe  in  the  "  real  presence,"  what 
can  remain  as  belonging  to  the  minister,  when,  moreover, 
supernatural  gifts  have  ceased  ?  We  answer,  the  Christian — 
but  the  Christian  consecrating  his  activity  in  order  to  bring 
others  into  Christianity,  or  to  nourish  the  Christian  life  in 
those  who  have  embraced  this  religion.  He  does  habitually 
that  which  all  Christians  ought  to  do  when  special  opportu- 
nities and  methods  present  themselves.  He  does  it  with  a 
degree  of  authority  such  as  we  may  suppose  to  be  natural  and 
appropriate  for  a  man  who  has  devoted  himself  to  this  work. 
But  he  has  no  peculiar  revelation  when  he  declares  the  wis- 
dom of  God  as  a  mystery,  1  Cor.  ii.  7 ;  when  he  presents 
himself  as  a  steward  of  the  mysteries  of  God,  (1  Cor.  iv.  1,) 
he  does  not  lay  claim  to  more  inspiration  than  that  which 
belongs  to  the  least  of  the  faithful.  He  is  the  steward,  the 
dispenser  of  a  common  good ;  he  does  not  take,  as  Jesus 
Christ  did,  of  that  which  is  his  own,  (John  xvi.  15,)  but  of 
that  which  belongs  to  all.  If  he  finds  it  true,  according  to 
the  words  of  St.  Paul,  that  the  faithful  obey  him  as  their 
spiritual  guide,  (Heb.  xiii.  17,)  the  sense  in  which  he  under- 
stands this  leaves  the  liberty  and  responsibility  of  those  who 
obey  intact.  He  protests  against  the  idea  of  being  a  "  lord 
over  God's  heritage."  1  Peter  v.  3 ;  compare  2  Cor.  i.  24. 
*'  Not  that  we  have  dominion  over  your  faith."  He  even 
contrasts  the  individuality  and  independence  of  the  Christian 
with  the  servile  credulity  of  the  idolater  :  "  Ye  know  that  ye 
were  Gentiles,  carried  away  unto  these  dumb  idols,  even  as 
ye  were  led."     1  Cor.  xii.  2. 

The  idea  of  service*  underlies  all  the  titles  which  they  as- 

*  AovAo^  is  a  name  more  than  once  applied  to  the  apostles.     See 


INTRODUCTION.  57 

Bumc,  and  all  the  authority  which  they  attribute  to  them- 
selves; they  reject  all  notions  of  power  as  belonging  to  their 
own  persons.  "  Who  then  is  Paul,  and  who  is  Apollos,  but 
ministers  by  whom  ye  believe  ?"  1  Cor.  iii.  5.  And  observe 
that  these  rulers,  these  ambassadors,  call  themselves  servants, 
not  only  of  God,  but  of  the  faithful  themselves.  If  they  say, 
"  Let  a  man  so  account  of  us  as  of  the  ministers  of  Christ," 
(1  Cor.  iv.  1,)  they  also  say,  *'A11  things  are  yours,  whether 
Paul,  or  Apollos,  or  Cephas ;  .  .  .  all  are  yours,  and  ye  are 
Christ's,  and  Christ  is  God's."*     1  Cor.  iii.  21-23. 

Examine  all  the  titles,  all  the  names  which  are  given  in 

Rom.  i.  1  ;  Gal.  i.  10  ;  Phil.  i.  1 ;  2  Tim.  ii.  24 ;  Titus  i.  1 ;  James  i. 
1 ;  2  Peter  i.  1 ;  Jude  1. 

*  As  to  the  speedy  introduction  of  the  opposite  principle,  that  is 
to  say,  the  principle  of  the  personal  authority  of  the  priest,  see 
Schwarz,  Katechetik,  pp.  11,  12.  Immediately  after  the  apostolic 
age  we  find  the  birth  of  the  clergy  and  the  hierarchy.  (See  Appendix, 
Note  III.) 

[See  also  Mede's  Discourse  on  1  Cor.  iv.  1,  in  which  he  contends 
for  "two  orders  ecclesiastical,  presbyters  and  deacons — the  masters, 
priests;  the  ministers,  deacons."  He  denies  that  presbyters  are 
ministers  of  the  people.  On  2  Cor.  iv.  5,  where  the  word  is  <5ou^oi'f, 
Mede  observes,  "The  apostle  says  not  they  were  the  Corinthians' 
servants,  but  that  he  had  made  himself  so  in  preaching  to  them  ;"  cf. 
1  Cor.  ix.  19.  To  call  presbyters  ministers  of  the  Church,  he  thinks, 
involves  four  solecisms :  1.  Deacon,  or  minister  =r  CoAcm,  from  which  it 
is  derived;  thus  presbyters  receive  a  levitical  title.  2.  Ministers r^ 
deacons ;  hence  there  is  a  tautology  in  the  language,  ministers  and 
deacons.  3.  Presbyter  is  a  name  of  superiority;  minister,  of  inferiority. 
4.  In  IhePresbyterian  Churches  "  there  is  a  worse  solecism,"  the  pastor 
receiving  the  inferior  title,  and  the  "lay-elders,  a  kind  of  deacons  at 
the  most,  and  of  a  new  erection  too,  are  dignified  by  the  name  of 
elders  and  presbyters" — the  superior  title.  He  says,  not  one  of  the 
words  rendered  minister,  iiuKovoc,  vKjjpeTtjc,  (as  in  1  Cor.  iv.  1,)  and 
?.eiTovp-y6c,  is  ever  applied  to  the  apostles  with  relation  to  the  Church, 
or  people.— T.  0.  S.] 


58  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

the  Gospel  to  ministers,  and  you  will  not  find  any  which  de- 
parts from  the  limitations  indicated  by  this  idea  of  the  servant 
of  humanity,  in  regard  to  its  greatest  interests,  for  the  love 
of  Grod,  [Every  thing  in  this  institution  is  generous :  it  knows 
no  other  force  than  that  of  persuasion,  no  other  aim  than 
the  dominion  of  truth,  and  its  only  distinction  is  in  its  more 
absolute  devotedness.] 

Nevertheless,  all  these  names,  all  these  metaphors,  all  these 
passages  added  to  illustrate  them,  do  not  embrace  the  com- 
plete sum  of  the  elements  necessary  to  constitute  a  minister — 
they  do  not  give  us  the  ideal  of  a  pastor — we  need  a  type,  a 
model,  a  personification  of  each  idea.  Where  shall  we  seek 
it  ?  If  any  one  has  proved  himself  to  be  the  type  of  a  man, 
he  is  therefore  at  the  same  time  the  type  of  a  pastor ;  for  in 
the  ideal  man  the  pastor  must  appear  as  one  feature  of  his 
character  :  it  is  impossible  that  any  one  who  should  give  a 
full  representation  of  perfected  humanity  should  fail  to  be  a 
pastor. 

This  new  man,  this  second  Adam,  can  only  have  been  such 
by  love;  the  first  object  of  love  is  that  which  is  immortal  in 
man ;  on  the  soul,  therefore,  will  the  love  of  this  ideal  man 
exercise  itself;  and  as  the  good  of  the  soul  can  only  be  se- 
cured by  its  regeneration,  and  it  can  only  be  regenerated  by 
means  of  truth,  so  the  oflice  of  the  perfect,  the  typal  Man 
must  necessarily  be  to  give  truth  to  man,  to  nourish  the  soul 
with  truth,  to  feed  it  in  its  green  pastures  and  by  the  side  of 
its  still  waters  :  the  perfect  man  must  be  a  pastor. 

Accordingly  he  has  said,  "  I  am  the  good  Shepherd."  John 
X.  11.  "The  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto, 
but  to  minister."*   Matt.  xx.  28. 

*  "Suminus  ecclesiastes  Dei  Filius,  qui  est  imago  Patris  absolutis- 
sima,  qui  virtus  et  sapientia  genitoris  est  seterna,  per  quem  Patri 
visum  est  humanas  gentis  largiri  quidquid  bonorum  mortalium  generi 


INTRODUCTION.  59 

Accordingly  his  immediate  disciples  have  called  him  "  the 
Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  our  souls."    1  Pet.  ii.  25. 

And  he  himself  has  given  the  most  sublime  comment  on 
the  term  shepherd,  by  the  declaration,  "  The  good  shepherd 
giveth  his  life  for  his  sheep."  John  x.  11.  [Here  the  me- 
taphor is  insufficient;  to  give  his  life  for  his  sheep  is  not  in- 
cluded in  the  idea  of  a  shepherd.] 

And  that  which  he  spoke  he  also  performed.  He  does  not 
■wait  merely  for  the  sheep,  he  runs  after  them,  he  goes  from 
place  to  place.     (John  the  Baptist  remained  in  the  desert.) 

And  lastly,  the  shepherd  making  himself  a  lamb,  substitut- 
ing himself  for  the  lambs,  has  been  offered  up.  He  is  ''the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."     Rev.  xiii.  8. 

This  Divine  Pastor,  who  must  be,  according  to  Saint  Ber- 
nard, the  Pastor  of  the  heavenly  worlds,  and  who  became  the 
Pastor  of  humanity,  has,  in  his  care  for  it,  embraced  all  the 
interests  of  our  race ;  for  it  he  has  done,  during  the  days  of 
his  flesh,  the  good  in  which  it  delights,  and  that  in  which  it 
has  no  delight. 

Lastly,  and  we  have  appropriately  left  this  feature  till  the 
last,  he  has,  of  deliberate  purpose,  without  external  neces- 
sity, (in  every  other  respect  his  circumstances  corresponded 
with  his  will,)  symbolized  the  spirit  of  a  minister  by  washing 
the  feet  of  his  disciples,  and  he  has  not,  by  his  silence,  al- 
lowed the  meaning  of  this  symbol  to  remain  doubtful.  John 
xiii.  5-16.  If,  as  he  himself  declared  on  that  occasion,  "  the 
servant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord,"  we  have  found  the  true 
idea  of  a  pastor.  [We  ought  to  be  servants ;  but]  the  idea 
of  service,  when  fully  developed,  involves  that  of  sacrifice. 
[The  minister  is  a  permanent  sacrificial  offering;  this  he 
should  be.     We  may  say  that  the  Christian  is  from  the  first 

dare  decrcverat,  nullo  alio  cogiiomine  niagnificentiiis  significant- 
iiisve  denotatur  in  Sacris  Litoris,  quilm  quam  dicitur  verbum,  sive, 
scrmn  Dei. — Erasmus,  Ecclesiastes,  lib.  i. 


60  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

such  an  offering ;  tliis  appellation  does  not  express  any  thing 
additional  for  the  pastor.  The  objection  only  adds  force  to 
our  assertion ;  for,  if  the  Christian  is  a  sacrificial  offering, 
the  pastor,  who  is  a  Christian  by  virtue  of  his  official  position, 
is  so  much  more.] 

Let  us  retrace  the  course  we  have  taken.  The  pastor  is 
nothing  but  the  recognized  dispenser  of  the  word  of  God. 
He  is  a  man  who  devotes  himself  to  the  work  of  applying  to 
and  enforcing  upon  man  the  redemptive  work  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,*  inasmuch  as  God  has  determined,  by  the  fool- 
ishness of  preaching,  to  save  men.  As  Jesus  Christ  was 
sent  by  God,  so  he  is  sent  by  Jesus  Christ.  He  determines, 
on  his  part,  to  do  from  the  principle  of  gratitude  what  Jesus 
Christ  has  done  from  a  principle  of  pure  love.f  He  repro- 
duces all  that  was  in  Jesus  Christ  except  his  merits.  He  is 
not,  so  far  as  the  obligations  which  are  imposed  upon  him  are 
concerned,  either  more  or  less  than  his  Master.  He  does, 
under  the  auspicious  smile  of  Divine  mercy,  all  that  which 
Jesus  Christ  has  done  under  the  weight  of  Divine  anger.  By 
word,  by  work,  by  obedience,  he  continues  the  life  which 
Jesuls  Chris<ji  in  his  own  person  commenced. 

Hymn. 

0  King  of  glory  and  Man  of  grief!  whoever  loves  thee 
has  suffered  ;  he  who  loves  thee  consents  to  suffer.  To  him 
is  the  promise  jnade  of  sha,ring  at  once  thy  glory  and  thy 
grief. 

Even  in  their  dreamy,  half-awakened  state  do  men  suffer  on 
thine  account ;  so,  without  knowing  why,  suffered  the  wife  of 

*"  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  woi'ld  unto  himself,  .  .  .  and 
hmih  committed  unto  us  the  -word  of  reconciliation."    2  Cor.  v.  19. 

f  "  For  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  ...  for  the  edifying  of  the 
body  of  Christ."    Eph.  iv.  12. 


INTRODUCTION.  61 

the  judge  who  delivered  thee  up  to  death.  He  who  has  some 
small  love  for  thee,  or  who  bewails  thee,  has  but  to  enter  upon 
the  road  on  which  thou  art  going ;  like  Simon  the  Cyrenian, 
he  will  bo  made  to  share  the  sad  burden  of  the  cross. 

Men  curse  those  who  bless  thee ;  humanity  excludes  them 
from  its  universal  communion ;  and,  thus  exiled  from  the 
human  family,  they  are,  alas  !  doubly  exiles. 

All  those  who  have  loved  thee  have  suffered ;  but  all  those 
who  have  suffered  for  thee  have  but  learnt  thus  to  love  thee 
more.  Grief  unites  men  to  thee,  as  joy  unites  them  to  the 
world. 

Grief  inspires,  as  those  possessed  by  a  generous  wine, 
those  whom  thou  entertainest  at  thy  mysterious  banquet,  and 
hymns  of  adoration  and  of  love  burst  forth  from  their  broken 
hearts. 

Happy  is  he  who,  like  the  Cyrenian,  shall  abase  himself  to 
take  his  part  in  bearing  the  cross  which  oppresses  thee. 
Happy  he  who  shall  willingly  endure  in  his  own  body  that 
which  remains,  and  that  which  shall  remain  to  the  end  of  the 
world,  to  be  endured  of  thy  sufferings,  for  the  Church  which 
is  thy  body. 

Happy  is  the  faithful  pastor,  who,  in  his  flesh,  continues 
thy  sacrifice  and  thy  struggle.  As  long  as  his  struggles  and 
groans  shall  continue,  I  see  him  with  the  vision  of  my  spirit, 
leaning  upon  thy  bosom,  as,  on  the  day  of  that  funeral  ban- 
quet, the  beloved  disciple  reposed. 

And  he,  so  long  as  love  carries  him  onward,  disfigured  by 
the  dust  and  the  blood  of  his  conflict,  from  place  to  place, 
and  from  suffering  to  suffering,  he,  in  a  hallowed  retreat,  un- 
observed by  the  world,  reposes  on  thy  bosom,  and  regales  in 
silence  on  the  gentle  sweetness  of  thy  words. 

Happy  is  the  faithful  pastor!  His  charity  multiplies  his 
sacrifices,  and  his  sacrifices  increase  his  charity ;  love  which 
inspires  his  endeavors  is  also  their  exceeding  great  reward. 


62  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

Happy  is  the  faithful  pastor  !  That  which  each  Christian 
would  wish  to  be,  he  is.  That  cross  which  each  one  attempts 
to  sustain  in  his  turn,  he  bears  unceasingly.  That  Jesus, 
from  whom  the  world  is  continually  endeavoring  to  distract 
our  regard,  is  for  him  the  world  of  his  life,  and  the  object  of 
his  unremitting  contemplation. 

Happy,  thrice  happy,  if  all  his  desire  is  that  he  may  add 
some  voices  who  shall  swell  the  concert  of  the  blest,  while  he 
himself  may  remain  concealed  amidst  the  universal  joy,  only 
treasuring  up  in  his  heart  the  unseen  approval  and  the  eternal 
Well  done  of  his  Master  and  Father. 

§  II. — NECESSITY    OF   THE    EVANGELICAL    MINISTRY. 

For  those  who  aspire  to  the  sacred  office,  it  is  an  interest- 
ing inquiry,  whether  an  evangelical  ministry  is  necessary  at 
all.  At  the  first  glance  this  investigation  may  appear  quite 
superfluous.  [Facts  outrun  proofs — our  instincts  determine 
the  conclusion.]  Nevertheless  the  question  is  asked,  (and 
one  entire  Christian  community,  that  of  the  Quakers,*  has 
answered  in  the  negative,)  whether  a  particular  class  of  per- 
sons, set  apart  for  the  superintendence  of  religious  worship 
and  the  teaching  of  religion,  is  necessary. 

In  the  view  of  many  persons,  a  sufficient  proof  of  this  ne- 
cessity might  be  found  in  the  general,  and  almost  universal, 
prevalence  of  the  institution.  This,  however,  only  supplies 
a  very  strong  presumption ;  after  so  much  has  been  estab- 
lished, the  question  yet  remains  open. 

We  shall  reply  by  two  methods  :  one  being  applicable  to  all 
cases  analogous  to  that  of  the  ministry,  the  other  having  an 
immediate  reference  to  the  special  case  before  us. 

I. — 1.  Every  important  function  connected  with  one  of 

*  But  even  among  the  Quakers,  some  persons,  chosen  from  the 
entire  company,  are  invested  with  a  kind  of  ministerial  dignity. 


INTRODUCTION.  63 

the  primary  requirements  of  society — with  one  of  the  ele- 
ments essential  to  its  life — demands  men  specially  and  exclu- 
sively devoted  to  that  office.* 

2.  Every  community  needs  and  implies  the  existence  of 
chiefs — of  a  government.  This  government  may  be  com- 
posed of  one  or  of  many  kinds  of  persons ;  may  be  more  or 
less  reasonable,  more  or  less  perfect.  These  features  are  not 
essential ;  the  principle  remains :  and  a  society  without  a 
government,  a  society  which  has  rules,  and  yet  has  no  one 
appointed  to  maintain  or  represent  them,  is  perhaps  even 
more  inconceivable  than  a  government  whose  action  is  not 
limited  and  directed  by  any  ruler  at  all. 

II. — 1.  As  a  general  principle,  we  may  affirm  that  the 
office  of  a  minister  cannot  be  carried  to  the  perfection  which 
is  involved  in  its  idea,  except  through  the  agency  of  men 
who  devote  themselves  exclusively  to  it ;  and  there  are  many 
things  which  can  generally  be  accomplished  only  by  such  men. 

2.  In  times  when  religion  has  itself  become  a  science  by 
the  fact  of  its  being  cultivated  by  science — when,  having 
established  a  crowd  of  relationships  with  private  and  public 
life,  it  must  concern  itself  with  a  vast  variety  of  details  and 
applications — the  ministry  can  hardly  be  efficiently  and  com- 
pletely carried  on  unless  by  a  man  who  is  a  minister  to  the 
exclusion  of  other  occupations. 

o.  There  are,  in  the  work  of  a  minister,  limits  at  which 
each  one,  or  the  great  majority,  will  stop,  unless  a  positive 
duty  compels  them  to  go  beyond  it.  Every  one  will  take 
upon   himself  only  that  which  is  convenient  to  him,  and 

*  The  jury  forms  no  exception  to  this.  It  does  not  exclude  the 
office  of  judge.  It  is  only  an  exemplification  of  an  idea  (which  re- 
ligion reproduces  in  other  forms)  that  a  society  delegates  to  special 
men  only  (hat  which  every  one  cannot  do  for  himself,  and  that  the 
delegation  only  cea.«es  where  those  who  delegate  arc  sufficiently  quali- 
fied to  act  on  their  own  account. 


64  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

many  think  that  even  in  advancing  thus  far,  they  have  done 
too  much.  [When  a  thing  must  be  determined  by  one  single 
person,  that  person  brings  his  conscience  entire  to  the  work; 
if  there  are  four,  each  one  only  brings  the  fourth  part  of  his 
conscience.  When  a  man  does  not  regard  his  responsibility  as 
absolute,  his  anxiety  only  refers  to  a  small  part  of  the  thing 
to  be  done,  or  perhaps  to  no  part  whatever.]  The  work, 
then,  would  be  done  only  in  a  superficial,  irregular,  and  in- 
terrupted manner,  if  it  could  not  reckon  upon  the  constant 
attention  of  certain  men. 

Zeal  for  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the 
belief  in  a  universal  priesthood,  were  doubtless  not  smaller 
than  they  now  are,  on  that  day  when  the  Holy  Ghost  said  in 
Antioch,  to  a  collegium  of  prophets  and  teachers  who  had 
already  been  separated  and  called  by  him  :  "  Separate  me 
Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I  have  called 
them."     Acts  xiii.  2. 

It  may  be  said  that,  by  what  is  actually  done  now,  we  can- 
not judge  of  what  the  faithful  would  do  if  they  were  unable 
to  place  upon  the  minister  the  burden  of  the  ministry,  which 
would  then  be  extended  to  all.  We  believe  that  their  first 
act  would  be  to  create  ministers.  For,  if  it  is  said  that  the 
general  zeal  would  be  greater  in  the  absence  of  these  spe- 
cially appointed  men,  this  zeal,  even  in  its  most  flourishing 
condition,  as  it  would  not  suffice  to  supply  all  the  wants  for 
which  precisely  the  ministry  is  instituted,  would,  in  such 
circumstances,  lead  Christians  to  do  what,  it  is  supposed,  in- 
diflference  and  indolence  will  make  them  do ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  very  zeal  of  the  faithful  would  prompt  the  creation  of  a 
special  office,  in  order  to  satisfy  those  wants  which  they  them- 
selves would  be  unable  to  meet.  The  greater  the  zeal,  the 
less  disposition  will  there  be  to  leave  great  interests  to  be  at- 
tended to  by  sufi'erance,  in  default  of  men  appointed  for  the 
very  purpose  of  attending  to  them. 


INTRODUCTION.  65 

Hiiffell*  regards  ministers  of  the  gospel  as  the  depositaries 
and  guardians  of  the  principle  of  life  that  has  been  deposited 
in  the  Church.  Christianity  is  essentially  a  self-propagating 
vitality  J  but  if  men  are  not  chosen  to  transmit  itj'f  if  this 
transmission  of  life  is  left  to  the  life  itself,  it  will  soon  cease. 
Without  the  ministry,  according  to  lliiifcll,  Christianity  would 
not  have  lasted  two  centuries. 

This  assertion  is  perhaps  too  positive  and  absolute ;  but 
we  may  not  say,  generally,  that  the  truth  and  potency  of  a 
work  are  called  in  question,  if  its  duration  is  made  to  depend 
upon  certain  means.  Nothing  is  done  without  means;  and 
when  the  means  by  which  an  institution  is  supported  are  cre- 
ated by  the  institution  itself,  when  it  derives  them  from  its 
own  resources,  and  selects  them  in  accordance  with  its  own 
nature,  we  may  not  say  that  it  is  itself  a  precarious  exist- 
ence because  it  makes  use  of  means.  Rather  must  we  con- 
sider it  precarious  if  it  made  use  of  no  such  means.  [If  it 
employs  in  the  ministry  its  choicest  elements,  the  best  part 
of  its  substance,  in  order  to  propagate  itself,  does  it  not  in- 
crease ?] 

No  one  doubts  that  the  life  of  the  Church  supposes  and 
demands  a  perpetual  witness,  an  uninterrupted  tradition ; 
and  it  is  necessary  that  this  witne.«!s,  this  tradition,  should  be 
guaranteed.  A  Church  would  fail  in  its  duty  to  itself,  did 
it  not  assure,  not  only  the  perpetuity,  but  also  the  rela- 
tive perfection  of  this  witness,  this  tradition.  Rom.  x. 
14,  15. 

*  Hiiffell,  Wesen-und  Beruf  des  Evangelisch-ChrktUchen  Gdsilicken. 
Vol  i.,  p.  28.     Third  Edition. 

f  Viiai  Lampada.     These  words,  which  Ave  place  in  a  note,  antl 
which,  in  M.  Vinet's  own  manuscript,  are  placed  in  parentheses  in 
the  text,  refer  probably  to  the  following  verse  in  Lucretius: 
Et,  quasi  cursores,  vitai  lampada  tradunt. 

De  rertan  naturi),  lib.  ii.,  v.  78. — Ed. 

3 


66  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

Herder*  vindicates  the  institution,  but  supposes  that  it 
may  safely  be  only  a  temporary  existence.  We  demand 
nothing  more  than  this  :  preserve  it  so  long  as  it  shall  be 
necessary,  and  only  abandon  it  when  its  necessity  has  ex- 
pired.    Our  conviction  is,  that  that  time  will  never  come. 

§  III. — INSTITUTION    OF   THE   EVANGELICAL  MINISTRY. 

Besides  the  necessity  that  results  from  the  nature  of  things, 
we  have  to  inquire  whether  there  is  a  necessity  of  another 
order — whether  this  is  a  positive  duty ;  in  other  words, 
whether  the  ministry  is  a  canonical  and  Divine  institution. 
Has  Jesus  Christ  himself,  or  his  apostles  in  his  name,  or- 
dained that  the  Church  shall  have  in  all  times  and  under 
all  circumstances,  special  men  appointed  to  the  superintend- 
ence of  worship,  and  the  guidance  of  human  souls  ? 

Answering  rigorously,  we  should  say.  No.  [Jesus  Christ 
has  instituted  little,  he  has  inspired  much.  That  which  dis- 
tinguishes and  separates  the  ancient  world  from  the  modern 
world  is  his  cross,  not  his  institutions.  The  rest  he  left  to 
the  Holy  Spirit  who  should  come.  He  has  virtually  abol- 
ished tnuch  that  he  has  not  formally  abolished.  He  has  pre- 
ferred the  invisible,  but  infallible,  influence  of  the  Spirit  to 
the  less  certain  and  delicate  action  of  the  letter.  His  kingdom 
is  a  spiritual  kingdom,  and  his  disciples  understood  this :  ac- 
cordingly they  did  not  attempt  hastily  to  abolish  and  pull 
down  what  they  found  existing  in  the  structure  of  society. 
And  he  did  not  even  enable  them  to  see  always,  and  from  the 
first,  what,  in  the  ancient  economy,  was  compatible  with  the 
new.  God  did  not  by  one  single  act  communicate  all  that 
they  required  to  know,  but  kindled  a  light  which  was,  by 
slow  degrees,  to  dissipate  their  darkness.  All  the  develop- 
ment of  Christianity  has  proceeded  in  this  way,  and  we  have 

*  Herder.     Provincialblatter,  iii. 


INTRODUCTION.  67 

yet  to  hope  for  a  new  world  of  discoveries.  However,  wc 
only  notice  this  progressive  advance  in  the  gospel  with  refer- 
ence to  secondary  points ;  for,  as  to  the  doctrine  of  Christ, 
the  apostles,  from  the  commencement,  were  agreed,  and  have 
expressed  the  whole.  It  is  not  thus  with  the  institutions  of 
Christianity :  they  have  been  gradually  adopted  according  as 
the  wants  of  the  Church  awakened  its  perception  of  their 
necessity.] 

Jesus  Christ  called  certain  from  among  his  followers,  in- 
trusted to  them  a  message  and  functions  similar  to  his  own, 
and  said  to  them,  (to  them  and  not  to  others,)  ''As  my  Father 
hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you."    John  xx.  21. 

St.  Paul  affirms  that  Jesus  Christ  "gave  to  some  to  be 
apostles,  and  some  prophets,  and  some  evangelists,  and  some 
pastors  and  teachers. "+  Eph.  iv.  11.  Here  Jesus  Christ  is 
represented  as  exercising  a  providential  oversight  in  the 
Church,  as  the  guide  of  his  first  messengers ;  the  organiza- 
tion and  government  of  the  Church  are  referred  to  him ; 
and  it  is  evident,  from  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  that  Christ 
designed  his  Church  to  have  ministers. 

The  apostles,  as  they  had  been  sent,  also  sent  others  in 
their  turn.  The  ministry  continued  of  itself,  without  being 
formally  instituted  once  for  all. 

]}ut,  on  the  one  hand,  Jesus  Christ  said  to  his  apostles, 
"  Go...  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,"  Mark 
xvi.  15 ;  and  since  those  whom  he  immediately  addressed 
could  only  commence  the  execution  of  a  command,  the  com- 
pletion of  which  would  rcquii'C  centuries,  he  addressed  him- 
self, in  their  person,  to  their  successors :  he  supposed  that 
they  would  have  successors,  and  thereby  he  has  implicitly  in- 

*  Bridges  remarks  how  the  framing  of  these  words  shows  the 
prandeur  of  the  institution. — The  Christian  Ministry,  p.  6.  See  also 
Calvin's  Commentary  in  loco. 


68  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

stituted  the  ministry.*  At  least  it  can  only  be  objected  to 
this,  that  the  carrying  out  of  the  work  did  not  demand 
specially  appointed  agents,  although  the  commencement  of 
the  work  has  demanded  it. 

This  leads  us  to  our  second  reflection.  It  is,  that  if  the 
circumstances  under  which  Jesus  Christ  conferred  the  apostle- 
ship  have  not  essentially  changed,  his  command  is  valid  for 
all  times,  and  is  equivalent  to  an  institution.  For,  not  to 
renew,  in  circumstances  entirely  parallel,  that  which  he  has 
himself  founded,  is,  in  some  sort,  to  condemn  this  first  estab- 
lishment, which  ought  never  to  have  been  made  if  it  ought 
not  to  have  been  perpetuated. 

[*  Vinethas  reference  to  the  transmissible  functions  of  the  apostles, 
not  to  their  superior  apostolical  prerogatives  and  powers,  such  as 
personal  acquaintance  with  Christ  and  immediate  outward  vocation 
by  him,  plenary  inspiration,  universal  jurisdiction,  and  the  capacity 
of  imparting  miraculous  endowments.  "The  apostleship,"  says 
Donne,  "as  it  was  the  fruitfuUest,  so  it  was  the  barrenest  vocation: 
they  were  to  catch  all  the  world ;  there  is  their  fecundity — but  the 
apostles  were  to  have  no  successors,  as  apostles ;  there  is  their  bar- 
renness. The  apostleship  was  not  intended  for  a  function  to  raise 
houses  and  families — the  function  ended  in  their  persons :  after  the 
first,  there  were  no  more  apostles.  .  .  .  Though  historically  we  do 
believe  it,  yet  out  of  Scriptures  (which  is  a  necessary  proof  in  ar- 
ticles of  faith)  they  can  never  prove  that  St.  Peter  was  Bishop  of 
Rome,  or  ever  at  Rome.  So  then  if  the  present  Bishop  of  Rome  be 
St.  Peter's  successor,  as  Bishop  of  Rome  he  hath  episcopal  jurisdic- 
tion there,  but  he  is  not  St.  Peter's  successor  in  his  apostleship ;  and 
only  that  apostleship  has  a  jurisdiction  over  all  the  world.  But  the 
apostleship  was  au  extraordinary  office  instituted  by  Christ,  for  a 
certain  time,  and  to  certain  purposes,  and  not  to  continue  in  ordinary 
use."  "In  some  things,"  says  Hooker,  (Eccl.  Pol.,  vii.  4,)  "every 
presbyter,  in  some  things  only  bishops,  in  some  things  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other,  are  the  apostles'  successors."  Under  the  second 
point  he  brings  in  prelatical  succession— for  which,  however,  he  fails 
to  bring  such  warrant  of  Scripture  or  ecclesiastical  history  as  would 
prove  its  necessity. — T.  0.  S.] 


INTRODUCTION.  69 

[It  lias  been  objected  to  this,  tbat  ministers  ought  to  be 
the  interpreters  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  that,  consequently,  the 
Divine  influence  which  is  distributed  among  the  faithful  will, 
on  every  occasion  of  need,  select  the  necessary  agents,  and 
call  forth  the  word  which  is  given  to  meet  the  exigency. 
This  is  the  opinion  of  the  Society  of  Friends :  it  is  a  false 
application  of  a  true  principle  ;  for  the  existence  of  a  special 
order  does  not  limit  the  agency  of  the  Spirit,  or  hinder  it 
from  "blowing  where  it  listeth." 

[By  all  the  means  under  our  control,  it  is  necessary  that 
we  should  insist  upon  the  fact  that  ministers  are  persons  in 
whom  the  Holy  Spirit  speaks.  If,  after  enforcing  this,  some 
should  be  found  who  are  unworthy,  while  we  deplore  this,  we 
shall  be  forced  to  confess  that  the  same  thing  might  take 
place  where  all  have  the  right  to  speak,  but  must  wait,  before 
they  speak,  for  the  impulse  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  May  they 
not  be  victims  of  self-delusion  ?  Will  not  those  who  are 
gifted  with  a  ready  utterance  speak  in  order  to  gain  power 
and  influence  ?  The  danger  will  be  greater  even  than  it  is 
among  us ;  for  these  preachers,  not  prepared  by  a  special 
course  of  study,  will  present  fewer  guarantees  of  cfBciency. 

[It  has  been  said  that  there  cannot  be  a  ministry  because 
there  is  not  a  Church ;  that  the  Church  is  an  impossibility 
for  this  world.  This  is  true,  if  the  ideal  of  a  Church  is  re- 
ferred to.  It  has  never  been  realized,  not  even  in  the  time 
of  the  apostles.  But,  to-day  as  then,  Christians  must  hear 
the  preaching  of  the  word,  that  they  may  be  consoled  and 
strengthened ;  they  must  pray  in  common,  render  thanks  in 
common ;  and  for  this  a  minister  is  necessary,  a  servant  of 
Cod  who  shall  present  the  word  in  a  manner  level  to  their 
capacity,  and  who,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
shall  supply  their  lack  of  strength.] 

Certainly  missionaries  will  be  required ;  for  in  our  times 
we  can  apply  the  words  which  St.  Paul  used  with  reference 


70  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

to  his,  ''  How  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they  have  not 
believed  ?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they 
have  not  heard  ?  and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher  ? 
and  how  shall  they  preach  except  they  be  sent  ?"  Rom.  x. 
14,  15. 

But  all  the  ministers  which  were  given  by  Jesus  Christ  to 
the  primitive  Church  were  not  missionaries  in  the  special 
sense  which  we  attach  to  the  word  :  many  of  them  were 
really  pastors,  and,  as  such,  provided  for  wants  similar  to 
those  which  exist  at  the  present  day — similar  to  those  which 
will  always  exist.  And  yet  are  not  all  pastors  in  one  view 
missionaries  ?  Are  there  not,  in  the  bosom  of  their  Churches, 
and  around  their  dwellings,  souls  whom  they  must  seek  out, 
as  much  so  as  pagans  or  idolaters  are  sought  out  at  a  thou- 
sand leagues  from  home  ?  Will  the  work  of  conversion  ever 
cease  ?  Must  not  the  net  ever  be  cast  out  far  and  near  ? 
And,  consequently,  are  not  the  circumstances  which  led  to 
the  original  founding  of  the  ministry  the  same  as  those  which 
exist  to-day,  and  do  they  not  demand  the  same  appliances  ? 
And  should  we  not  be  casting  off  our  allegiance  to  Jesus 
Christ  himself,  if  we  neglected  to  do  now  in  his  name  that 
which,  if  he  were  among  us,  he  would  do  himself  ? 

Let  us  not  forget  that  whatever  we  may  say  now  of  the 
abolition  of  the  ministry  might  have  been  said  formerly 
against  its  institution.  It  might  have  been  said  that  every 
faithful  man  is  a  minister,  which  is  true ;  that  no  faithful 
man  ought  to  omit  "  to  shoiv  forth  the  praises  of  him  who 
has  called  him  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous  light," 
(1  Pet.  ii.  9,)  which  is  also  true ;  that  the  Christian  life  is  a 
discourse — that  faith  produces  faith,  and  so  on — all  true 
ideas,  but  they  are  not  to  be  so  interpreted  as  to  supersede 
other  ideas  as  true  as  they,  which  involve  the  necessity  of  a 
ministry  now  as  they  did  in  former  times. 

Lastly,  let  us  observe  that  the  apostles  have  never  spoken 


INTRODUCTION.  71 

of  the  ministry  in  such  a  way  as  to  lead  us  to  think  that  they 
regarded  it  as  au  accidental,  transitory  thing,  or  as  a  tempo- 
rary institution. 

In  fine,  we  think  thiit,  in  such  a  question  as  this,  to  take 
away  the  terms  in  which  the  institution  was  founded,  would 
be  only  to  remove  a  word,  since  if  Jesus  Christ  has  not  form- 
ally, and,  so  to  speak,  by  letters-patent,  instituted  the  order 
of  the  ministry,  yet  he  has  not  left  us  in  doubt  concerning 
his  will  on  this  matter.  Wc  shall  not  in  reality  depart  from 
the  truth,  we  shall  not  exaggerate,  if  we  call  the  ministry  a 
Divine  institution. 

§  IV. — DOES   THE    3I1NISTR.Y  CONSTITUTE  AN  ORDER  IN  THE 
CHURCH  'i 

A  discussion  has  been  raised  upon  the  question.  Is  the 
ministry  a  separate  order  ?*  The  answer  to  this  might  seem 
easy  after  the  solution  of  the  first  question,  from  which,  in- 
deed, it  is  scarcely  to  be  distinguished.  [Nevertheless,  theolo- 
gians who  agree  that  the  ministry  is  a  Divine  institution  are 
divided  on  this  point.  It  is  then  worth  our  while  to  investi- 
gate it.] 

If  the  ministry,  that  is  to  say,  the  consecration  of  certain 
particular  men  to  the  guidance  of  the  Church,  has  been  in- 
stituted, these  men,  as  distinguished  from  all  others,  will 
necessarily  form  an  order,  at  least  in  one  sense.  If  there  is 
any  discussion,  it  is,  doubtless,  on  the  greater  or  lesser  lati- 
tude that  the  word  order  admits  of.  For  the  disputants  are 
agreed  as  to  the  institution  itself  that  it  is  a  real  and  valid 
existence. 

It  is  certain  that  this  word  order  may  suggest  to  different 
minds  very  different  ideas.     In  the  case  of  some  it  will  sug- 

*  In  German,  Stand. 


72  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

gest  the  idea  of  a  levitical  tribe  [a  sacerdotal  caste]  so  iso- 
lated as  to  form  a  religious  society — exercising  exclusive  pre- 
rogatives— in  which  the  idea  of  the  community  starts  from 
them  rather  than  they  from  the  idea  of  the  community — ex- 
isting by  itself,  and  imposed  upon  the  flock  by  an  authentic 
Divine  institution,  or  by  Providence  :  in  one  word,  legitimate, 
in  the  sense  which  has  been  given  to  the  word  by  political 
parties. 

Others  who,  having  accepted  the  ministry  as  an  institution, 
would  be  prepared  to  accept  it  as,  in  a  certain  sense,  an  order, 
refuse  to  recognize  a  clerical  order,  if  the  word  does  neces- 
sarily involve  all  the  ideas  which  we  have  just  exhibited.  In 
their  view  the  ministry  rather  constitutes  a  particular  class 
of  persons,  a  species  of  functionaries  of  which  Jesus  Christ 
has  determined  that  his  Church  shall  never  be  deprived ; 
but,  according  to  their  idea,  the  similarity  of  their  functions 
no  more  elevates  them  into  an  order  than  the  rank  of  captain 
or  officer  constitutes  au  order  of  all  the  captains  and  officers 
belonging  to  an  army,  who,  in  fact,  are  nothing  but  soldiers 
occupying  a  more  elevated  position  and  rank.  In  their  view, 
ministers  are  no  other  than  the  officers  of  the  Christian 
army,  with  this  primary  difference,  that  each  one  may  become 
an  officer  of  his  chief  as  soon  as  he  finds  soldiers  disposed  to 
accept  him  as  such,  and  to  march  under  his  conduct. 

Each  of  these  opinions  has,  however,  several  degrees  and 
shades.  The  majority  of  the  defenders  of  each  are  influenced 
in  this  respect  less  by  a  reasoning  conviction  than  by  habit 
or  tendency  of  thought.  These  contrasted  opinions  do  not, 
in  fact,  so  much  belong  to  two  different  systems  as  to  two 
different  classes  of  minds,  and  when  circumstances  hav-e 
brought  into  view  vivid  manifestations  of  these  two  classes, 
and  have  placed  them  in  the  presence  of  each  other,  it  has 
been  necessary  that  they  should  explain  themselves;  and 
habit  on  the  one  hand,  and   tendency  on  the  other,  have 


INTRODUCTION.  73 

issued  in  distinct  systems,  which  have  been  obliged  to  give 
an  account  of  their  foundations — foundations  which,  perhaps, 
they  have  not  discovered  till  after  their  full  establishment. 

[Those  who  admit  that  the  ministry  is  an  order  are  accus- 
tomed to  look  to  history-  the  others  rest  upon  speculation. 
At  the  Reformation  there  was  little  systematizing :  vivid 
feelings  were  aroused,  while  method  and  form  were  neglected. 
Afterwards  came  a  period  of  repose,  and  the  clergy  in  cer- 
tain places  formed  themselves  into  an  order.  In  these  times 
we  must  make  our  selection  :  Catholicism  presses  upon  us — we 
must  be  Protestants  in  the  most  unambiguous  mode.  We 
have  zealously  guarded  the  shreds  of  Romanism,  now  we  must 
resolutely  seek  for  other  habiliments.] 

Among  the  most  eminent  defenders  of  the  second  system, 
wc  ought,  in  more  recent  times,  to  distinguish  Neander. 
Neandcr*  notices  the  tendency  which  early  manifested  itself 
in  the  Church  to  constitute  the  ministry  into  a  caste.  He 
relates  the  resistance  of  Clement  (A.  D.  217)  and  of  Tertul- 
lian  (A.  D.  245)  to  this  retrogression  towards  Judaism.  These 
fathers  placed  a  value  (and  Neander,  following  them,  also 
places  a  value)  on  the  idea  of  a  universal  priesthood. 
According  to  1  Pet.  ii.  9,  and  Rev.  i.  6,  Neander  and  his 
authorities  only  admit  of  the  priesthood  as  an  institution  in 
the  sense  of  a  convenient  division  of  labor.f  See  Acts  vi.  4, 
on  the  appointment  of  deacons. 

Harms|  replies  to  Neander  that  the  language  of  St.  Peter 
is  figurative,  and  that  the  Hebrew  people  were  similarly 
designated   although   they  had  a  priestly  order.     "And  ye 

*  Ne.inder,  Deiiku-iirdigkeittn,  i.  G4-69,  et  179.  Pl.inting,  Bk.  iii., 
ch.  1.  Sec  also  Schwarz,  Katechctik,  p.  11.  In  Notes  III.  and  IV.  in 
the  .Appendix  thcfe  extracts  will  be  found  translated. 

f  Neaiidcr's  Church  History.  See  Appendix,  Note  V.  Sec  also 
Ret  tig,  Die  freie  Proteatantische  Kirche,  p.  87. 

X  Poitoral  Theoloffie,  ii.,  p.  11. 


74  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

shall  be  unto  me  a  kingdom  of  priests,  and  an  holy  nation." 
Exod.  xix.  6. 

But  this  is  to  pass  from  one  side  to  the  other  with  argu- 
ments which,  in  the  one  case,  destroy  nothing,  and  in  the 
other  case  construct  nothing.  For  the  idea  of  a  universal 
priesthood  does  not  contradict  the  idea  of  a  special  priest- 
hood ;  and  so  Harms  is  right  in  alleging  on  this  point,  Exod. 
xix.  6 ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  a  special  priesthood  need  not 
be  so  appointed  as  to  be  incompatible  with  a  universal  priest- 
hood. 

It  seems  to  me  advantageous  to  remark,  as  confirmatory  of 
both  these  truths,  that  those  who  in  the  Bible  have  spoken 
of  a  universal  priesthood  were  themselves  invested  with  a 
special  priestly  dignity,  and  maintained  that  character  in  the 
presence  of  those  whom  they  addressed.  In  their  view,  the 
two  priesthoods,  or  the  two  ministries,  did  not  exclude  one 
another. 

Moreover,  in  the  new  economy,  it  is  certain  that  in  one  re- 
spect the  universal  ministry  is  the  sole  reality ;  not  that  it 
has  excluded  the  other,  but  because,  in  this  new  economy, 
the  other  ministry  no  longer  exists — I  mean  the  priesthood 
properly  so  called ;  no  one  is  specially  a  priest,  but  each  is  a 
priest  so  far  as  he  is  united  to  the  High  Priest,  who  is  Jesus 
Christ.  The  only  ministry  that  remains  is  that  of  the  word, 
and  that  is  at  once  special  and  universal.  And  here,  then, 
we  repeat  our  observation,  that  the  inspired  men  who  have 
recognized  this  ministry  as  universal  did  not  the  less  exercise 
it  in  a  special  manner  :  it  did  not  enter  into  their  thoughts 
to  deny  either  the  one  or  the  other. 

They  have  also  recognized  the  fact,  that  the  faithful  dis- 
ciple is  directly  taught  by  God,  and  that  consequently  his 
chief  Shepherd  is  in  heaven.  They  have  strongly  insisted 
on  this  immediate  relation  that  has  been  established  between 
every  faithful  man  and  Him  who  is  at  once  the  object  and  the 


INTRODUCTION.  75 

author,  (the  head  and  consummator,)  of  his  faith.*  This  is, 
in  fact,  the  essence  of  true  religion,  the  spirit  of  the  true 
worshippers  of  the  Father,  the  characteristic  of  a  worship  in 
which  God  reveals  himself  as  Father ;  and  accordingly  we 
shall  find,  even  under  the  elder  dispensation,  vivid  traces  of 
this  idea.  (See  Jer.  xxxi.  31-34.)  But  these  same  men  who 
proclaim  the  immediacy  of  the  intercourse  between  the  faith- 
ful and  God,  and  who  do  not  offer  themselves  as  mediators,  or 
as  substitutes  for  the  only  IMediator,  do  not  the  less  exercise 
the  ministry  of  the  word,  which  has  for  its  distinct  object, 
and  for  its  final  aim,  to  promote  this  immediate  intercourse. 
They  have  not  in  any  respect  contradicted  themselves.  There 
is  then  no  necessity  of  opposing  either  the  universal  ministry 
to  the  special  ministry,  or  the  special  ministry  to  the  universal 
ministry ;  but  as  they  are  identical  in  nature,  as  they  do  not 
differ  in  respect  of  any  of  the  elements  which  belong  to  the 
constitution  of  either,  as  the  one  has  no  virtue  and  no  illumin- 
ation which  has  been  denied  to  the  other,  it  is  necessary  that 
we  should  carefully  recognize  what  Neander  has  asserted, 
that  the  special  ministry  only  exists  by  virtue  of  the  principle 
of  the  division  of  labor,  and  for  the  different  reasons  which 
we  ourselves  have  already  indicated.  If  we  seek  for  the  rea- 
son of  an  institution,  for  the  idea  which  has  given  it  birth, 

*  "They  shall  not  teach  every  man  his  neighbor,  and  every  man 
his  brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord  ;  for  all  shall  know  me,  from  the 
least  to  the  greatest."  Heb.  viii.  11.  "  These  things  have  I  written 
unto  you  concerning  them  that  seduce  you.  But  the  anointing 
which  ye  have  received  of  him  abideth  in  you,  and  ye  need  not  that 
any  man  teach  you ;  but  the  same  anointing  teacheth  you  of  all 
things."  1  John  ii.  26,  27.  "They  shall  all  be  taught  of  God: 
every  man  therefore  that  hath  heard,  and  learned  of  the  Father, 
comelh  un(o  me."  John  vi.  45.  See  Isaiah  liv.  13,  "All  thy  chil- 
dren shall  be  taught  of  the  Lord."  Sec  also  Luke  ix.  50:  Num.  xi. 
29:  John  iii.  27. 


76  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

we  do  not  therefore  deny  the  real  existence  of  the  institution, 
nor  do  we  take  aught  from  the  authority  of  its  founder. 

The  truth  on  this  question  may  find  its  proper  limitations 
on  one  side,  (that  is  to  say,  on  the  side  which  tends  to  the 
too  absolute  distinction  between  the  clergy  and  the  laity,)  in 
the  words  which  we  have  already  quoted  from  1  Pet.  ii.  9, 
and  Rev.  i.  6,  "Ye  are  a  royal  priesthood;"  and  it  may  find 
its  corresponding  limit  on  the  other  side,  (that  is  to  say,  the 
side  which  tends  unduly  to  confound  the  two,)  in  the  words 
of  St.  Paul:  "Paul,  separated  unto  the  gospel  of  God." 
Rom.  i.  1. 

There  is,  then,  an  order  in  no  other  sense  than  this  :  that 
there  is  a  peculiar  class  of  men  who  are  indispensable  in  the 
constitution  of  a  Church — a  class  which  is  set  over  each 
Church,  coordinate  with  the  other  parts  which  compose  it, 
and  forming  its  living  centre — "for  the  perfecting  of  the 
saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the 
body  of  Christ."    Eph.  iv.  12. 

This  order  could  only  become  a  caste*  [in  the  following 
cases  :] 

1.  In  the  case  of  its  being  hereditary,  as  in  the  Mosaic 
economy ;  or  transmitted,  as  in  the  Romish  Church.  The 
first  of  these  cases  is  unexistentj  and,  as  Protestants,  we  re- 
pudiate the  second.  Transmission,  in  the  Romish  Church, 
has  neither  sense  nor  reason  except  it  be  connected  with  the 
mystery  of  the  real  presence,  and  of  an  infallible  interpreter. 
Remove  these  two  dogmas — make  the  pastor  simply  the  ad- 
ministrator of  a  worship  in  which  there  is  no  element  of 
mystery,  and  the  preacher  of  a  word  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
may  explain  to  another  as  well  as  to  himself,  and  what  rational 

*  "  The  word  caste  is  applied  to  certain  classes  of  persons  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  the  rest  of  the  nation  to  -which  they  belong." — 
Dictionnaire  de  V Acadimie. 


INTRODUCTION.  77 

or  psycliological  foundation  can  there  remain  for  succes- 
sion? On  the  other  hand,  admit  the  dogma  of  succession, 
and  you  arc  bound  to  find  a  vindication  and  a  substantial 
basis  for  it  in  one  or  other,  or  even  in  both  of  the  two  dogmas 
which  we  have  referred  to.  The  basis  of  history  or  of  legiti- 
macy can  never  suflSce  to  preserve  an  institution ;  it  can  only 
stand  by  virtue  of  human,  interior  reasons :  make  the  trans- 
mission of  ecclesiastical  powers  to  rest  on  a  historical  basis, 
and,  however  solid  may  be  tliis  basis,  you  deprive  them  of 
every  sufficient  reason  and  efficient  means  for  their  perpetu- 
ation, lu  our  national  Protestant  Churches,  our  ministers 
are  consecrated  by  other  ministers,  to  which  no  objection  can 
be  offered ;  but  this  does  not  prevent  our  finding,  if  wc  trace 
back  the  consecration  to  its  original  source,  men  who  were 
not  themselves  formally  consecrated  by  others,  but  had  con- 
secrated themselves ;  the  right  tlicn  of  doing  the  same  thing 
belongs  to  all.* 

2.  A  caste  would  be  formed  if  the  minister  were  not  a  citi- 
zen in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  term.  It  is  quite  possible  that 
civil  institutions  may  occasionally  limit  or  extend  the  qualifi- 
cations required  for  citizenship,  but  these  restrictions  are  not 
created  with  it,  they  are  not  inherent,  nor  are  they  required 
by  any  of  the  elements  which  compose  tbe  institution.  The 
case  is  difierent  with  the  llomish  priest,  who  cannot  become 
a  citizen  except  by  departing  from  his  own  character  as  priest. 
The  possession  of  constitutional  power  which  has,  in  certain 
countries,  been  attached  to  the  order,  is  a  very  difibrent  thing 
from  the  aptitude  for  public  business  which  may  belong  to  the 


[*  None,  however,  are  at  liberty  to  ignore  the  Divine  call,  or  the 
formal  recognition  of  the  Church,  where  the  latter  can  be  secured. 
This  is  done  in  nearly  all  Churches  by  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of 
ministers— a  ceremony  which  claims  apostolic  precedent,  though  not 
precept.— T.  0.  S.] 


78  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

individual,  and  is  an  intrusion  by  the  Church  or  by  the  clergy 
into  the  domain  of  civil  affairs. 

3.  In  the  case  of  ministerial  functions  being  exclusive,  a 
caste  would  be  formed.  It  may  perhaps  be  convenient  for  a 
society,  as  such,  to  make  use  of  particular  men  or  orders  of 
men;  but,  apart  from  this,  the  functions  of  the  ministry  may 
be  performed  by  any  of  the  faithful. 

The  ministry  then  does  not  constitute  a  caste :  it  does  not 
even,  except  by  accident,  form  itself  into  a  separate  body. 
Undoubtedly  this  accidental  feature  is  of  frequent  occurrence, 
but  still  it  remains  accidental.  Corporate  existence  is  not 
essential  to  the  ministry. 

To  sum  up  in  conclusion :  An  ecclesiastical  ministry  is 
formed  by  the  consecration,  under  certain  conditions,  of  certain 
members  of  the  Christian  society  to  occupy  themselves  spe- 
cially, but  not  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others,  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  religious  worship,  and  the  guidance  of  human 
souls.  A  religious  society  can,  moreover,  decide  that  the 
solemn  observances  which  are  performed  at  its  meetings  shall 
be  exclusively  presided  over  by  those  particular  persons  who 
are  denominated  ministers  or  pastors. 

It  seems  easy  to  keep  within  the  two  prescribed  limits ;  if 
we  are  absorbed  in  either  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other,  it 
will  be  at  the  loss  of  some  evangelical  truth.  But  it  is  cer- 
tain that  we  cannot  lose  one  of  these  without  losing  the  other 
also ;  a  choice  between  the  two  will  never  have  to  be  made ; 
we  shall  preserve  or  we  shall  lose  both  at  once. 

This  discussion  is  not  an  easy  one.  The  attack  and  de- 
fence pass  from  one  side  to  another  without  meeting  one  an- 
other, each  party  advancing  that  which  the  other  does  not 
reject,  and  repudiating  that  which  the  other  does  not  care  to 
defend.  But  this  discussion,  which  could  not  have  arisen  at 
any  other  period,  marks  a  kind  of  mental  action,  which  it  is 
incumbent  upon  us  to  observe,  and  may  help  us  to  determine 


INTRODUCTION.  79 

with  more  accuracy  our  position  in  the  Church  and  in  so- 
ciety. 

This  mental  action  is  of  a  very  singular  character ;  it  in- 
dicates the  coexistence  of  two  contradictory  elements.  Every 
thing  that  can  be  done  to  make  us  a  caste  is  done,  and  yet 
incessant  fears  are  expressed  lest  we  should  become  one.  It 
is  not  remembered  that  it  is  in  the  very  nature  of  a  body  in 
exile  to  form  itself  into  an  empire,  and  that  it  will  shortly 
not  be  able  to  see  even  its  equals  where  it  is  not  allowed  to 
see  those  who  are  similar  in  position  and  action  to  itself  We 
create,  or  at  least  we  strengthen,  the  a^jyrit  de  corps  by  this 
constant  fear  of  it. 

The  clergy  itself  is  undecided  between  the  recollection  of 
its  ancient  authority  and  the  feeling  of  its  actual  position. 

That  interest  in  religious  questions,  which  is  revived  no 
longer  among  the  masses,  but  among  a  certain  number  of  in- 
dividuals, tends  to  confer  importance  upon  the  clergy ;  that 
same  interest  also  invests  the  laity  with  some  of  the  functions 
of  the  clergy,  and  more  or  less  eflfaces  the  limits  which  divide 
them. 

This  position  of  things  ought  certainly  to  teach  us  one 
thing — to  remain  or  to  enter  only  on  those  terms  which  are 
required  by  the  gospel,  and  which  we  have  already  de- 
scribed. 

In  every  Church,  therefore,  which  is  organized  according 
to  the  word  and  according  to  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ, 
there  will  be  ministers  :  whether  or  not  they  form  a  distinct 
body,  they  will  never — let  me  urge  this  upon  you — they  will 
never  form  a  caste.  They  will  belong,  in  every  thing  that 
does  not  exclusively  affect  their  distinctive  official  duties,  to 
the  general  company  of  other  Christians  and  other  citizens, 
and  their  only  inalienable  attributes  will  be  such  as  are  de- 
fined and  limited  by  the  interests  of  the  order. 


80  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

§  V. — EXCELLENCE    OF   THE    MINISTRY. 

The  ministry  that  is  necessary  to  Christianity,  which  shares 
in  the  necessities  of  Christianity,  and  which,  moreover,  was 
instituted  or  intended  by  Jesus  Christ,  cannot  but  be,  accord- 
ing to  the  expression  of  St.  Paul,  "  a  good  work."  1  Tim. 
iii.  1. 

Let  us,  however,  study  it  in  itself,  and  indicate  the  princi- 
pal characteristics  which  may  recommend  it  to  us. 

At  first  sight,  and  looking  from  only  a  terrestrial  point  of 
view,  the  art  par  excellence  is  that  of  ruling  minds ;  (ars  est 
artium  regimen  animarum ;)  and  although  others  besides 
the  preacher  may  succeed  in  this,  yet  certainly  when  he  suc- 
ceeds, he  does  so  in  a  more  definite  and  profound  way,  be- 
cause of  the  nature  of  the  motives  which  he  employs.  He 
excites  and  fortifies  in  man  all  those  thoughts  which  ought 
to  determine  and  regulate  his  entire  life. 

Regarding  the  subject  from  a  still  higher  point  of  view, 
we  know  that  the  great  prerogative,  or  one  great  mission  of 
the  preacher,  is  to  keep  before  the  view  of  men,  who  are 
always  in  danger  of  being  absorbed  in  the  things  of  earth,  a 
faith  in  things  invisible,  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  to  be, 
among  men,  the  man  of  the  soul  and  of  eternity. 

To  those  whose  chief  attention  is  devoted  to  social  inte- 
rests, the  minister  is  the  first  instrument  of  civilization,  inas- 
much as  he  is  the  primary  agent  in  forming  general  morals 
As  he  strengthens  and  propagates,  so  far  as  he  can,  those 
maxims  which  teach  men  how  to  live  truly,  as  he  is  the 
magistrate  for  consciences,  the  counsellor  of  benevolence  and 
peace,  he  represents  the  highest  element  in  social  existence. 
As  he  is  the  religious  trainer  of  the  people,  he  cannot  remain 
indiff"erent  to  intellectual  culture;  he  is  its  promoter;  he  is 
everywhere  the  head  of  the  popular  school,  as  well  as  the 
leader  of  the  Church  ;  and  here  again,  in  this  relation,  the 


INTRODUCTION.  81 

minister  of  the  gospel  is  the  minister  of  civilization.*  The 
prophet  and  priest  of  the  middle  ages,  and  the  missionary 
among  savage  tribes  of  this  age,  have  been  ostensibly  and 
openly  chiefs  of  the  society.  Every  society  has  been  more 
or  less  theocratic  in  its  commencement.  The  birth-time  of 
society  is  the  time  when  men  have  less  perception  of  second 
causes,  and  where,  in  every  case,  they  ascend  to  the  first  cause. 
Afterwards  they  do  not  care  to  ascend  so  high.  So  it  is  in 
the  governance  of  society.  lieligion  now  governs  and  directs 
civil  order  only  indirectly,  and  according  to  the  measure  of 
its  influence ;  and  the  minister  is  placed  in  a  corresponding 
position.  Society  does  not  recognize  its  real  chief.  But  it 
must  be  that  the  most  grave  and  solemn  moments  in  indi- 
vidual and  public  life  will  belong  to  religion,  and  consecjuently 
to  him ;  that  a  number  of  weighty  interests  will  constantly 
be  intrusted  to  him ;  that  the  lowest  deeps  of  the  human 
spirit  will  be  opened  up  to  him  by  a  religious  power  which  is 
the  strongest  of  all  powers.  Always  does  his  hour  return, 
[and,  with  him,  religion  penetrates  into  the  midst  of  those 
interests  which  are  abandoned  to  him.  Wherever  religious 
institutions  are  feeble,  where  the  Church  has  almost  lost  its 
reality,  the  pastor  alone  remains;  to  him  all  eyes  are  di- 
rected. It  is  with  the  pastor  as  with  the  Sabbath.  Happy  is  he 
for  whom  every  day  is  a  Sabbath ;  and  happy  will  be  those 
times  in  which  the  individual  importance  of  the  minister 
shall  decrease  because  all  Christians  will  be  ministers.] 

*  [All  this  applies  specially  to  the  Christian  minister;  for,  apart 
from  Christianity,  the  minister  is  often,  and  especially  in  these  clays, 
the  representative  of  the  anti-.social  and  anarchical  element — the 
minister  of  darkness.  But,  even  in  false  religions,  he  is  not  such, 
if  we  look  at  their  starting-point.  Whatever  illusions  may  have 
mixed  up  with  religious  traditions,  the  truth  has  always  found 
its  place,  and,  in  it,  civilization  is  provided  for.  The  want  of  a  reli- 
gion is  a  noble  want;  everywhere  has  it  been  the  cradle  of  society.] 


82  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

His  every-day  life,  instead  of  being  trivial,  as  the  life  of 
men  in  general  is,  is  solemn.  His  duties  belong  to  the  very 
foundations  and  roots  of  human  life.  By  his  ministry  he  is 
brought  into  contact  with  whatever  is  serious  and  important 
in  life.  Those  great  pauses  or  resting-places — those  signifi- 
cant moments — belong  to  him — birth,  marriage,  and  death. 

His  life  is  a  life  of  devotedness,  or  it  has  no  meaning  what- 
ever. [His  career  is  a  perpetual  sacrifice  into  which  he  in- 
troduces all  that  belongs  to  him.  His  family,  as  a  consecrated 
family,  belongs  to  the  ministry,  and  shares  in  its  privations. 
As  Jesus  came  into  the  world  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but 
to  minister,  so  with  the  minister;  and  this  is  his  glory. 
"  To  serve  God  is  to  rule  with  him."  He  seeks  the  glory  of 
God  directly,  yet  does  he  seek  it  as  the  servant  of  man ;  for 
to  serve  men  from  love  to  God,  is  to  serve  God.  The  minis- 
ter is  a  man  of  benevolence  and  compassion.  And  no  one 
is  deceived  in  him :  every  one,  even  the  natural  man,  asks 
charity  of  the  minister ;  every  one  reproaches  him  if  he  dis- 
plays hardness,  avarice,  coldness,  unkindness.  All  this  is 
peculiar  to  Christianity.  In  nations  which  are  not  Christian, 
even  among  the  Jews,  the  priest  has  not  this  character ;  and 
sometimes  he  is  regarded  as  a  formidable  and  malignant 
being.  But  now  the  greatest  unbeliever  yet  believes  Chris- 
tianity to  be  a  religion  of  kindness.]  A  minister  is  a  man 
to  whom  God  has  said,  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people." 
He  is,  among  men,  the  representative  of  a  thought  of  mercy, 
and  he  represents  it  by  making  it  incarnate  in  his  own  life. 
To  succor  is  the  minister's  life. 

Lastly,  the  ministry,  at  least  in  the  Protestant  Church, 
[and  among  the  Presbyterians,*]  must  rather  be  the  goal  of 
ambition,  never  its  point  of  departure.     [Only  more  that  is 

[*  Vinet  wrote  this  as  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  the  Canton  de 
Vaud :  it  is  equally  applicable  to  ministers  of  all  our  Churches. — 
T.  0.  S.] 


INTRODUCTION.  83 

convenient  in  position,  and  more  agreeable  in  locality,  can 
distinguish  one  minister  from  another.  It  is  a  noble  sight 
to  witness  his  ambition  determinately  fixed,  his  desires  impe- 
riously limited.  Man  is  only  too  much  harassed  by  his 
desires ;  he  is  a  fevered  patient  who  knows  not  which  way 
to  turn  himself;  in  order  to  calm  him,  the  floodgate  of  his 
desires  must  be  closed.  The  minister  is  as  much  shut  up  to 
his  ministry  as  any  other  man  is  to  his  profession ;  and  he 
may  satisfy  that  striving  after  development  which  is  one  of 
the  characteristics  and  prerogatives  of  our  nature.  But  the 
feature  by  which  he  is  distinguished  is,  that  once  a  minister, 
lie  is  all  that  externally  he  can  be;  his  place  is  taken,  and 
he  may  never  leave  it.] 

Let  us  now  rise  to  the  point  of  view  supplied  by  Christian 
faith.     The  dignity  and  excellency  of  the  ministry  follows : 

1.  From  the  excellency  of  the  doctrine  which  he  preaches. 
It  is  a  '^wisdom  among  them  that  are  perfect,"  1  Cor.  ii.  6; 
that  is  to  say,  a  wisdom  which  renders  men  as  perfect  as  they 
can  be ;  not  a  show,  or  a  fragment  of  truth,  but  the  truth 
itself  in  its  completeness.  [Nothing  is  more  grand  than  this 
mission.  Whoever  should  infallibly  possess  the  truth,  on 
any  subject  whatever,  would  be  already  a  most  important 
person.  Jesus  Christ,  before  Pontius  Pilate,  exhibited  at 
once  a  witness  for  and  the  royalty  of  the  truth.  Indeed,  he 
testified  to  the  truth — the  supreme  truth,  that  which  explains 
and  rules  the  life — the  everlasting  truth,  the  truth  that 
enters  into  man's  relations  with  God.  What  work  then  can 
be  so  high  as  that  of  preaching  it  ?  And  that  is  the  wisdom 
of  the  pastor.] 

2.  Because  this  doctrine  is  a  revelation  of  God.  The 
Divine  oracles  have  been  intrusted  to  him.  They  are  the 
things  which  "eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  .  .  .  and  which  God  hath  pre- 


84  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

pared  for  them  that  love  him."  1  Cor.  ii.  9.  The  minister, 
then,  is  the  immediate  messenger  of  God  :  "  He  that  receiveth 
you,  receiveth  me ;  and  he  that  receiveth  me,  receiveth  him 
that  sent  me."     Matt.  x.  40. 

3.  Because  the  minister  is  a  co-worker  with  Grod.  1  Cor. 
iii.  9.  God  himself  shares  his  responsibility,  enters  into  his 
cares,  promises  to  work  for  him  and  by  him. 

4.  Because  it  announces  and  offers  salvation.  If  this  min- 
istry were  one  of  condemnation,  if  the  pastor  preached,  in 
the  name  of  God,  only  the  law,  he  would  fulfil  his  duty  with 
anguish  and  terror,  and  still  his  duty  would  be  excellent ; 
but  as  God  has  shown  his  glory  chiefly  in  pardoning,  so  he 
has  placed  the  glory  of  the  ministry  in  the  fact  of  its  being 
a  ministry  of  pardon.  Accordingly  St.  Paul,  speaking  not 
only  of  the  two  economies,  but  of  the  two  ministries,  says : 
"  God  hath  made  us  able  ministers  of  the  New  Testament ; 
not  of  the  letter,  but  of  the  spirit;  for  the  letter  killeth,  but 
the  spirit  giveth  life.  But  if  the  ministration  of  death, 
written  and  engraven  in  stones,  was  glorious,  so  that  the 
children  of  Israel  could  not  steadfastly  behold  the  face  of 
Moses  for  the  glory  of  his  countenance,  which  glory  was  to 
be  done  away,  how  shall  not  the  ministration  of  the  spirit  be 
rather  glorious  ?  For  if  the  ministration  of  condemnation 
be  glory,  much  more  doth  the  ministration  of  righteousness 
exceed  in  glory.  For  even  that  which  was  made  glorious  had 
no  glory  in  this  respect,  by  reason  of  the  glory  that  excel- 
leth."  2  Cor.  iii.  6-10.  Besides,  it  is  abundantly  evident 
that  as  the  glory  of  God's  mercy  consists  in  the  union  of 
two  inseparable  things — mercy  itself  and  its  fruits  of  justice — 
so  the  glory  of  the  Christian  minister  is  composed  of  these 
two  elements.  Isaiah  appears  to  have  had  this  in  view  when 
he  said,  "  How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of 
him  that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace ;  that 
bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that  publisheth  salvation; 
that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy  God  reigneth  \"     Isa.  Iii.  7. 


INTRODUCTION.  85 

These  two  elements  unite  again  in  the  power  conferred  on 
the  apostles,  and,  after  them,  on  all  Christian  ministers,  the 
power  of  hindlng  and  loosing.  Matt,  xviii.  18.  [The  min- 
ister can  only  bind  while  he  looses,  and  loose  while  he  at  the 
same  time  binds.  He  binds  when  he  attaches  the  conscience 
by  mystic  links  and  chains  of  adamant  to  the  perfect  law ;  he 
looses  when  he  detaches  us  from  the  law  of  precepts,  pro- 
claims the  abolition  of  servitude,  and  declares  an  amneSty 
from  God.  These  two  things  are  two  poles  which  alwaj^s 
correspond  to  one  another.] 

It  is  true  that  the  minister  is  a  savor  of  death  to  those  for 
whom  he  is  not  a  savor  of  life:  the  head  corner-stone  is  also 
"  a  stone  of  stumbling  and  rock  of  offence,  even  to  them 
which  stumble  at  the  word,  being  disobedient;"  (1  Pet.  ii. 
8 ;)  and  the  condemnation  of  him  who  has  heard  without 
believing  is  so  much  the  more  great;  but  this  is  a  necessary 
consequence  of  the  nature  of  the  ministry  which  he  exer- 
cises, and  does  not  in  any  degree  diminish  its  excellence. 

To  say  all  in  one  word,  let  us  transfer  to  the  ministry  all 
the  excellence  that  is  proper  to  Christianity;  let  us  impute 
to  it  all  the  benefits  which  Christianity  brings,  since  it  is 
their  channel,  and  it  perpetuates  them ;  or,  if  it  seem  good, 
let  us  measure  its  excellency  by  the  excellency  of  Christi- 
anity; then,  and  not  till  then,  we  shall  have  said  enough 
concerning  it.* 

§  VI.  —  DIFFICULTIES   AND   ADVANTAGES    OF   AN    EVANGEL- 
ICAL   MINISTRY. 

After  having  thus  established  the  excellency  of  the  min- 
istry, it  might  appear  idle  to  draw  up  any  balance-sheet  of 

*  See  Erasmus  on  the  Dignity  of  the  Ministry.  This  piece  has 
been  translated  by  Roques  in  his  Pasteur  Evangdiquc.  Sec  Appendix, 
Note  VI. 


86  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

advantages  and  disadvantages  whicli  it  can  oflfer,  as  a  profes- 
sion or  as  a  position,  to  those  who  consecrate  themselves  to 
it.  But  although  this  excellency  involves  the  whole  question 
in  the  case  of  him  who  recognizes  and  feels  it;  and  although, 
in  the  case  of  one  who  does  not  feel  it,  the  question  of  the 
advantages  and  inconveniences  of  a  position  which  he  ought 
never  to  embrace  has  not  even  an  interest  of  curiosity,  yet  I 
do  «ot  think  I  am  called  upon  to  place  myself  in  so  absolute 
a  point  of  view ;  I  must  reason  as  if  the  second  question 
possessed  an  interest  entirely  independent  of  the  first. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  difficulties,  the  pains,  and  the 
dangers  of  the  ministry. 

The  ministry  is  very  different  according  as  it  is  regarded 
at  a  distance  or  near  at  hand ;  and  it  is  important  for  us  to 
view  it  closely.  [It  is  not  possible  to  have  a  true  knowledge 
of  its  duties  when  it  is  regarded  at  a  distance  ;  it  is,  however, 
necessary  to  gain  a  general  acquaintance  with  them  :]  "  Which 
of  you,  intending  to  build  a  tower,  sitteth  not  down  first,  and 
counteth  the  cost,  whether  he  have  sufficient  to  finish  it?" 
Luke  xiv.  28-30.  Doubtless  it  is  necessary  to  be  a  Christian  at 
any  cost  whatever ;  and  from  this  very  necessity  we  may  con- 
clude that  the  cost  is  not  too  great  for  any  one.  But  the 
qualifications  required  for  a  pastor  are  not  interchangeable 
with  those  that  .are  demanded  for  a  Christian  :  others  are 
added ;  those  already  possessed  require  to  be  enlarged ;  and 
it  is  this  augmentation  that  we  have  to  compute.  [We  ought 
to  see  if  the  cost  is  too  great  for  us ;  thus  we  shall  avoid 
wearisome  and  discouraging  surprises. 

[There  are  two  ways  of  making  this  examination.  In  the 
first  place,  we  may  examine  all  those  extreme  positions,  extra- 
ordinary situations,  perilous  cases  that  belong  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry.  If  there  is  any  thing  that  is  tragic  in  Christian 
life,  it  exists  much  more  in  the  life  of  a  pastor,  who  is  the 
pattern-Christian.     In  the  second  place,  we  may  examine 


INTRODUCTION.  87 

ordinary  cases :  the  difference  does  not  lie  in  the  nature  of 
these  cases,  but  in  their  frequency. 

[Extraordinary  cases  are  so  called  because,  through  the 
goodness  of  God,  they  are  rare ;  but  it  cannot  be  superfluous 
to  speak  of  them.  There  have  been  times  when  "  those  who 
builded  the  wall  .  .  .  with  one  of  his  hands  wrought  in  the 
work,  and  with  the  other  hand  held  a  weapon."  Neh.  iv.  17. 
Perhaps  this  is  the  case  now.  Ordinary  or  extraordinary 
times  are  not  so  because  of  that  which  meets  the  eye ;  in 
reality,  all  times  are  what  we  ourselves  make  them.  All  may 
be  sublime,  and  the  most  extraordinary  we  may  make  prosaic. 
The  ministry  is  extraordinary  at  all  times.  There  is  a  heroic 
way  of  conceiving  of  it,  and  that  is  the  only  true  way.  The 
ministry  is  an  office  of  devotedness,  and  in  order  that  we  may 
not  take  one  thing  for  another,  we  must  elevate  the  ministry 
to  the  full  height  of  its  grandeur,  and  see  it  in  the  most 
arduous  periods  of  its  existence.  For  ourselves,  we  are  per- 
petually descending  below  our  truest  height :  what  then  can 
bo  more  fatal  than  to  seek  an  ideal  of  the  ministry  in  some 
middle  point,  instead  of  ascending  to  the  summit  of  its  activ- 
ity and  danger  ?  In  order,  therefore,  that  we  may  not  remain 
content  with  too  low  an  estimate,  we  ought  to  seek  our  ideal 
in  the  most  exceptional  cases,  and  ask  ourselves  whether  we 
should  be  ready  to  accept  such  a  ministry  as  missionaries 
undertake  among  barbarian  peoples  —  such  as  the  martyrs 
passed  through.  We  ought  at  the  outset  to  place  before  us 
tliat  which  is  only  not  impossible,  or  we  do  not  attain  to  an 
adequate  idea  of  the  ministry.  In  whatever  position  it  may 
be  exercised,  the  ministry  retains  its  identity;  nothing  can 
make  it  change — neither  times  of  difficulty  nor  times  of  re- 
pose. For  a  time  God  may  allow  us  to  enjoy  a  quiet  position  ; 
but  the  ministry  selects  the  most  perilous  situations — it  is 
always  a  complete  sacrifice  of  body  and  spirit  in  the  service 


88  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY, 

of  the  Cliurcli.  We  should  therefore  place  before  our  minds 
the  greatest  difficulties,  not  only  that  we  may  bring  an  extra- 
ordinary spirit  to  ordinary  occasions,  but  because  that  which 
might  appear  to  us  impossible,  will  be  found  not  to  be  so. 

[The  history  of  the  Church  is  made  up  of  a  succession  of 
periods  of  troubles  and  of  peace,  and  these  periods  were  un- 
foreseen. The  most  profound  disturbances  are  not  always 
announced  by  unmistakable  presages,  and  certainly  not  by 
distant  warnings :  on  the  evening  the  heaven  is  calm,  on  the 
morrow  a  storm  breaks  out,  and  nothing  can  enable  us  to 
anticipate  its  approach  :  "As  the  days  of  Noe  were,  .  .  .  they 
were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage, 
until  the  day  that  Noe  entered  into  the  ark,  and  knew  not 
until  the  flood  came,  and  took  them  all  away."  Matt.  xxiv. 
37-39 :  Luke  xvii.  26,  27.  Our  age  has  great  faith  in 
institutions  and  their  power,  and  doubtless  they  are  mighty 
forces ;  nevertheless  the  claws  of  the  wild  animal  soon  grow 
again.  Human  nature  always  retains  its  savage  state — it  is 
only  tamed  by  society.  There  are  passions  which  only  sleep 
in  the  heart  of  man,  and,  in  spite  of  the  security  which  is 
provided  by  social  institutions,  we  can  never  be  sure  against 
that  hatred  of  men  to  the  gospel,  which  is  alwaj^s  alive  in 
their  hearts,  and  which  will  even  more  violently  display  its 
rancor  as  Christianity  advances.  We  must  then'  regard 
revolutions  and  persecutions  as  probable,  even  as  we  regard 
pestilences  in  nature  as  probable.  Especially  do  storms 
break  over  Christianity  because  it  must,  more  than  any  thing 
else,  attach  unto  itself  hatred  and  love.  Its  normal  condition 
is  neither  absolutely  one  of  trouble  nor  one  of  peace.  In 
truth,  it  does  not  want  peace.  God  grants  peace  in  order 
that  it  may  again  be  tempered  for  fresh  battle ;  but  a  too 
long  calm  might  be  fatal  to  it — it  must  have  troubles  and 
tempests. 

[Every  one  therefore  who  enters  the  ministry  ought  to 


INTRODUCTION.  89 

bring  these  epochs  vividly  before  his  mind,  and  to  ask  him- 
self, What  shall  I  do  ?  It  will  perhaps  be  necessary  that  in 
a  plague  or  a  time  of  war,  I  should  give  my  life  for  my  flock, 
even  as  Jesus  Christ  gave  his  life  for  us.  And  shall  I  be 
prepared  to  do  so ?  In  our  times  there  is  no  persecution; 
often,  the  idea  is  only  ridiculed.  These  times  may  change  : 
we  may  be  persecuted — that  is,  threatened  in  our  property, 
our  families,  our  persons.  Such  a  situation  is  as  natural  as 
any  other :  it  is  not  more  natural  to  go  with  regularity  and 
tranquillity  to  church,  aud  to  go  through  its  services  peace- 
fully, than  to  go  to  the  funeral-pile,  to  be  persecuted  through 
wife  and  children,  to  excite  the  anger  of  the  great  of  the 
earth,  and  perish  under  the  strokes  of  their  fury,  to  be  exiled, 
or  to  exercise  a  laborious  ministry  in  the  extremest  poverty. 
AVe  might  even  say  that  peace  is  the  exception.  All  crises, 
moreover,  are  not  of  an  exterior  character :  there  are  times 
as  difficult  as  times  of  persecution — times  of  heresy  or  error, 
when  the  greater  number  of  those  associated  with  us  in  the 
ministry  do  not  preach  the  gospel.  These  also  are  times  in 
which  to  struggle  for  truth,  and  to  shrink  from  no  sacrifices. 
Even  now  do  we  sec  error  and  heresy  erecting  themselves : 
we  have  to  fight  those  who  arc  weakening  the  gospel — and 
we  ought  consequently  to  expect  calumny  and  hatred  from 
many  quarters. 

[In  our  country,  and  in  our  day,  the  ministry  may  be  ex- 
ercised in  a  position  that  is,  in  a  material  point  of  view,  in- 
dependent ;  but  is  it  certain  that  this  will  last,  and  that  wo 
shall  not  one  day  be  called  upon  to  exercise  our  ministry  in 
poverty  ?  The  time  during  which  the  pastor  is  a  sufi"ragan 
has  already  elements  of  difficulty ;  but,  although  it  is  an  evil 
time  in  one  sense,  it  yet  has  its  blessings :  the  holy  calling  is 
purified  by  these  tests. 

[We  must  not  fear  to  present  before  our  minds  these  more 
gloomy  views  of  the  ministry.     We  must  recognize  the  fact 


90  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

that  the  career  of  heroism  is  also  one  of  hardship.  All  pas- 
tors ought  to  be  heroes,  for  Christianity  in  every  class  is  still 
heroism :  the  Christian  is  an  undeveloped  hero — a  hero  in 
spirit.  The  right  possessed  by  Protestant  ministers  of  having 
families  does  not  at  all  change  their  position ;  it  only  renders 
their  devotedness  the  more  difficult.  The  priest  is  a  solitary 
individual.  The  Protestant  minister  is  not  exempted  from 
any  sacrifice :  he  must  give  his  life,  if  that  be  required  of 
him ;  and  every  sacrifice  will  be  so  much  the  more  painful, 
inasmuch  as  his  family  will  also  share  in  the  sufi'ering  which 
it  may  occasion.  His  business  is  to  devote  himself  And 
why  should  his  devotedness  be  more  painful  to  him  than  it  is 
to  a  physician,  for  example,  concerning  whom  the  question  is 
never  asked  whether  he  is  or  is  not  married  ?] 

Let  us  now  look  at  the  evangelical  ministry  in  ordinary 
times,  no  longer  in  times  of  struggle  or  of  persecution. 
What  we  shall  here  say  will  apply  to  the  greatest  possible 
number  of  cases,  to  the  most  ordinary  position — as  that  of 
the  country  pastor :  it  will  exclude  none. 

The  ministry,  according  to  Gregory  Nazianzen,  is  "  a  tem- 
pest for  the  soul."  Chrysostom  says,  "A  bishop  is  more  agi- 
tated by  cares  and  storms  than  the  sea  is  by  winds  and 
tempests."*     Consider : 

1.  The  difficulty  of  governing,  hy  purely  moral  means,  a 
multitude  of  minds  and  spirits  very  variously  constituted. — 
There  are,  in  this  multitude,  many  elements  which,  if  quiet 
in  their  isolated  condition,  do  not  harmonize  well  with  one 
another.  The  minister's  work  is  to  govern  this  state,  and  to 
obtain  not  only  an  exterior  but  an  interior  obedience.  He 
must  subdue  not  only  the  acts  but  also  the  thoughts  of  those 
beneath  him,  and  reduce  them  to  unity ;  and  all  this  by  per- 

*  De  Sacerdotio. 


INTRODUCTION.  91 

suasion,  for  "the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal." 
2  Cor.  X.  4.  In  one  sense  political  government  is  more  easy 
than  this  :  it  has  material  forces  ;  it  has  public  opinion — for 
the  government  expresses,  more  or  less,  the  opinion  of  society. 
It  can  do  no  more  than  society,  in  its  best  elements,  deter- 
mines; it  is  the  agent  of  the  community.  The  pastor  must 
lead  men  where  they  have  no  disposition  to  follow  him ;  he 
must  receive  those  strange  ideas  which  man  is  disinclined  to 
accept,  and  which  are  treated  as  madness ;  and  here  wo  see 
the  tremendous  difficulty  of  the  pastoral  government.  The 
gospel  is  human — doubtless  its  humanity  is  of  the  truest 
kind ;  it  corresponds  to  the  inner  nature  of  man,  to  his  con- 
science, which  must  be  reached  by  piercing  through  that 
outer  covering  which  intercepts  the  light  of  truth.  The 
inner  man,  from  its  obsclire  hiding-place,  stretches  out  its 
hand  to  the  gospel ;  there  is  a  secret  recognition  between  the 
two.  But  what  obstacles  have  to  be  surmounted  !  how  diffi- 
cult is  it  to  reunite  the  divided  threads  ! 

[St.  Gregory,  expounding  this  idea  of  the  diversity  of 
feelings  and  characters,  remarks  that  truth  is  one;  but  that 
is  sometimes  milk  and  sometimes  meat,  according  as  it  is  re- 
ceived by  different  individuals.  Now  it  is  necessary  that  we 
should  give  to  every  one  the  nourishment  best  suited  to  him.* 

*  "The  art  of  all  arts,  the  science  of  all  sciences,  appears  <o  me 
to  be  the  art  and  science  of  directing  men,  the  most  varied  of  beings, 
and  the  most  changeable."  (Gregory  Nazianzen's  Apology.)  In  the 
same  book  man  is  represented  as  'evbg  C<^>ov  avvOerov  koI  dvofiniov.  We 
subjoin  the  passage  in  which  the  diifcrent  wants,  the  different  de- 
grees of  culture  and  intelligence  are  referred  to:  "Some  have  need 
to  be  nourished  with  milk,  the  most  simple  and  elementary  lessons; 
but  others  require  that  wisdom  which  is  spoken  among  them  that  are 
perfect,  a  stronger  and  more  solid  nourishment.  If  we  shojild  wish 
to  make  them  drink  milk  and  cat  soft  herbs,  the  nourishment  of  the 
feeble,  they  would  be  dissatisfied,  and  assuredly  with  good  reason, 
not  being  strengthened  according  to  Christ,"  etc. 


92  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

Truths  wliich  repel  some,  attract  others ;  those  which  destroy 
some,  save  others :  we  must  therefore  give  the  same  truths 
under  different  forms  to  different  individuals.  The  pastoral 
government  is  a  government  of  individuals ;  civil  law  does 
not  trouble  itself  with  differences  of  character.] 

Thus  the  first  characteristic  excellence  of  the  ministry  con- 
stitutes also  its  first  difficulty. 

2.  The  great  labor  of  a  ministerial  life. — The  poor,  the 
sick,  schools,  charitable  schemes,  intervention  to  promote 
peace,  official  correspondence,  sermons,  catechizing.  The 
multitude  and  onerous  nature  of  duties  do  not  authorize 
neglect  of  the  sermon,  which  is  the  only  mode  presented  to 
us  of  reaching  some  people ;  or  the  catechism,  which,  in  a 
sense,  puts  us  in  possession  of  every  generation  as  it  makes 
its  appearance  in  the  world.  But  this  enumeration  does  not 
include  all,  because  even  where  all  these  details  are  not  in- 
cluded, the  ministry  must  gain  in  profundity  what  it  loses  in 
extent.  The  smallest  parish  ought  to  become,  by  the  zeal  of 
him  who  ministers  to  it,  as  onerous  as  the  largest;  the  work 
has  only  one  limit,  and  that  is  lack  of  materials,*  and  occa- 
sions of  usefulness  must  be  sought  at  a  distance,  when  those 
nearer  at  hand  are  wanting.  He  is  not  a  true  imitator  of  the 
first  of  ministers  who  is  not  "  eaten  up"  by  the  zeal  of  Grod's 
house.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  pastoral  labor,  we 
may  say  that  all  the  extension  which,  in  any  other  profession, 
the  most  exalted  enthusiasm  or  the  most  unbounded  ambition 
could  suggest  to  the  man  who  exercises  it,  is  only  the  exact 

*  "One  single  soul  would  suffice  to  occupy  a  priest,  because  each 
soul  and  each  man  is  as  a  great  world  in  the  ways  and  works  of  sal- 
vation, however  little  he  may  be  in  the  structure  of  his  own  nature. 
Thus  a  priest,  in  proportion  as  he  has  fewer  souls  to  govern,  is  of 
greater  importance  to  each  several  one  that  is  intrusted  to  him." — 
St.  Cyran's  Thoughts  on  the  Priesthood. 


INTRODUCTION.  93 

measure  of  that  which  is  opened  up  to  the  minister  by  the 
simple  idea  of  his  office. 

3.  Uniformity  of  the  lahor  required. — [There  are  hibors 
which  are  more  uniform,  but  where  the  kind  of  labor  com- 
pensates for  the  uniformity.  The  ill  effects  of  uniformity  are 
more  especially  manifest  in  things  that  require  delicacy  and 
sensibility;*  they  are  far  less  important  in  other  professions 
in  which  there  is  less  to  lose,  in  which  the  edge  that  is 
blunted  is  less  delicate.  Duties  which  are  repulsive  to  the 
feelings  become  in  time  insupportable,  unless  the  Spirit  of 
God  revives  the  soul  continuall3^  If  anywhere  uniformity  is 
to  be  dreaded,  it  is  in  the  work  of  the  ministry.  How  shall 
we  not  be  terrified,  if,  when  a  solemn  duty  presents  itself,  the 
heart  feels  perfectly  chilled ;  if,  while  around  all  is  great, 
within  the  soul  all  is  small  ?  Before  a  scene  of  death,  for 
instance,  habit  may  have  left  the  heart  cold  and  unimpressed. 
Of  this  there  is  immense  danger,  and  if  there  were  no 
remedy,  it  would  be  better  for  us  to  renounce  the  ministry 
at  once.     But  there  is  one.] 

This  uniform  labor  is  without  the  prospects  and  chances 
of  other  professions :  [there  is  no  prospect  of  ascending  to  a 
higher  degree  in  the  social  hierarchy.  We  must  say  to  our- 
selves, I  will  do  the  same  thing  during  the  whole  of  my  life, 
without  ever  forsaking  it,  without  ever  looking  for  a  wider 
extent  on  the  horizon  of  my  earthly  existence.] 

4.  Labor  ill  appreciated. — This  is  an  unhappy  position 
for  most  men,  at  least  for  all  men  in  proportion  to  the  inten- 
sity and  importance  of  their  labors.  The  peasantry,  espe- 
cially, regard  him  as  indolent  who  does  not  occupy  himself 
with  manual  labor;  they  do  not  understand  how  truly  the 
labor  of  the  spirit  is  labor.     And  though  the  labor  of  the 

*  Corruptio  optimi pessima.  Specimens  of  the  priest,  such  as  that 
given  by  Marmotel,  are  rare  indeed. 


94  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

mind  may  find  many  to  appreciate  it,  yet  the  labor  of  the 
heart — prayer,  spiritual  concern  for  the  flock — who  will 
regard  this  ?    The  pastor  must  submit  to  be  little  understood. 

5.  The  many  painful  and  cheerless  duties.  For  the  prin- 
cipal occasions  when  religion  and  the  ministry  are  required, 
are  in  times  of  sufi'ering.  What  sad  discoveries  are  made 
while  thus  traversing  the  circle  of  human  misery !  [The 
gospel  is  a  moral  dispensary.  There  is  a  gospel,  because 
there  are  maladies  to  be  healed.  The  minister  especially 
visits  spiritual  patients,  but  he  also  visits  those  whose  dis- 
eases are  bodily,  or  who  suflFer  from  any  kind  of  sadness. 
Often  sickness  and  death  are  the  only  doors  through  which 
he  can  enter  into  a  house.  What  a  mournful  entrance  !  The 
miseries  of  the  body,  the  scenes  of  dissolution  which  are 
present  every  day  to  the  physician,  are  much  sooner  lost  from 
view  than  are  the  miseries  of  the  soul.  The  sight  of  moral 
evil,  and  especially  the  analysis  of  it,  soon  stains  and  pollutes 
the  soul  of  any  one  who  has  received  the  terrible  gift  of 
knowing  man  without  knowing  God.  The  true  minister 
doubtless  does  know  God,  but  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked 
one  sometimes  find  a  flaw  in  his  breastplate.  It  is  possible, 
too,  for  a  man  to  become  misanthropic,  and  to  see  the  fire  of 
charity  becoming  extinguished  within  him.] 

Lastly,  there  are  sufferings  of  the  heart  which  the  min- 
ister has  to  alleviate,  and  which  are  also  little  comprehended 
by  most  of  those  who  can  but  feebly  appreciate  the  work  of 
the  pastor.  [If  he  has  found  a  heart  hard,  but  hypocritical, 
which  has  eluded  all  the  efforts  of  his  benevolent  activ- 
ity— if  a  soul  has  not  been  saved  because  of  circumstances 
which  he  ought  to  have  foreseen — no  one  can  understand 
what  he  suffers.  And  yet  the  greatest  alleviation  which  we 
can  possess  in  our  griefs,  is  the  sympathy  of  others.] 

6.  The  sacrifice  of  many,  even  innocent  pleasures. — [It 
will  be  necessary  to  renounce  many  things  which  are  inno- 


INTRODUCTION.  95 

cent  in  themselves,  but  which  might  offend  those  who  aro 
weak  in  foith.  The  measure  of  this  interdiction  varies,  but 
it  always  exists.] 

7.  Talent  lost  and  decaying  in  obscurity. — [It  cannot  be 
that  every  man  of  talent  shall  be  placed  where  he  will  be 
appreciated.  He  does  not  act  to  gratify  self-love,  but  for 
the  sake  of  discharging  his  duty.  This  is  a  sacrifice,  but  it 
is  one  that  must  be  made.  And  after  all,  there  is  a  vast 
amount  of  buried  talent  in  the  world.  We  are  not  respon- 
sible for  God's  arrangements,  and  we  must  accept  them  with- 
out repining.] 

8.  Painful  isolation  for  one  who  has  known  the  charms  of 
social  life,  and  of  intercourse  between  different  minds. 

9.  That  sjiccics  of  fear  and  distrust  which  the  pastor  in- 
sjyires. — [To  many  men  he  is  the  representative  of  the  gloomy 
side  of  human  existence.]  The  minister  seems  always  to 
remind  men  of  the  end  of  their  course.  His  own  life  is 
grave ;  and  gravity  always  borders  on  sadness.  [This  ban- 
ishes him  to  a  kind  of  solitude,  which  augments  that  solitude 
which  he  must  of  necessity  create  for  himself,  in  order  to 
act  in  a  manner  becoming  his  position.] 

10.  The  double  danger  of  pleasing  and  of  displrasing  the 
world. — If  the  pastor  pleases  it,  he  is  attracted  by  this  suc- 
cess, and  wishes  to  assure  himself  of  it  for  the  future ;  it  is 
hard  for  him  to  find  himself  deserted  after  he  has  been 
courted ;  apart  from  all  self-love,  it  is  painful  to  renounce 
the  friendly  sympathy  of  our  fellows,  and  to  be  no  longer  at 
peace  with  all  men.  If  he  displeases  it,  he  is  imbittered  or 
irritated,  and  does  all  he  can  to  displease  it  still  more.*  [It 
is  possible  to  abuse  the  idea  of  the  offence  of  the  truth — to 
wish  to  add  a  greater  unpopularity  to  the  truth  before  the 


*  Sec  Newton's  Omicron,  Letter  xiii.,  On  the  dangers  to  which  the 
minister  of  the  gospel  is  exposed. 


96  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

heart  is  conquered  and  won  by  it.  The  minister  ought  to 
conciliate  the  affection  of  the  members  of  his  flock ;  and  if 
he  is  unpopular,  he  ought  to  examine  his  conduct,  in  order 
to  see  if  this  unpopularity  does  not  arise  from  himself,  and 
not  from  the  truth.  However  this  may  be,  the  danger  exists ; 
our  path  is  along  the  edge  of  a  double  abyss.] 

11.  Self-love  is  very  active  in  a  profession  which  exposes 
men  to  observation,  which  is  moreover  intellectual  in  its  cha- 
racter, and  is  closely  allied  to  art  and  literature. — [The  min- 
ister can  assemble  his  people  to  speak  on  any  topic  which  he 
chooses  to  select.  We  shall  not,  therefore,  be  surprised  to 
find  that  many  have  embraced  this  profession  with  this  sole 
end  in  view.  The  flock  then  becomes  a  kind  of  public ;  his 
audience  is  a  literary  tribunal ;  the  position  of  the  minister  is  fal- 
sified; his  generous  independence,  his  authority  are  compro- 
mised :  a  yoke  is  imposed  upon  him.  He  no  longer  preaches 
Christ,  he  preaches  himself,  and,  by  a  sacrilege  the  extent  of 
which  it  is  difficult  to  estimate,  the  pulpit  becomes  a  theatre — 
a  stage  on  which  his  vanity  may  display  itself.  These  expres- 
sions may  sound  harsh ;  and  yet,  if  we  look  into  the  real  state  of 
the  case,  we  shall  find  them  often  to  be  only  too  just.  After 
each  of  his  triumphant  orations,  the  pastor  may  receive  the 
applause  of  his  hearers ;  but  every  eulogy  will  utter  a  re- 
proach to  his  heart.  Alas !  how  much  better  were  it  for 
him  to  prefer  before  all  these  praises  the  silent,  unobtrusive 
respect  of  one  faithful  spirit  which  has  listened  with  atten- 
tion, and  whose  heart  he  has  touched  :  a  far  greater  victory 
than  to  have  excited  any  amount  of  sterile  admiration. 

[Self-love  is  our  most  terrible  enemy,  because  it  is  nearest 
to  us.  Every  one  is  greedy  of  praises ;  but  as  there  is  a 
self-love  which  is  of  a  full  and  unqualified  character,  and 
that  is  vanity,  so  there  is  a  self-love  which  is  less  vigorous, 
and  knows  how  to  moderate  its  activity.  To  this  last  has 
been  given  the  name  of  modesty.     It  is  not  a  virtue,  it  is  a 


INTRODUCTION.  07 

human  quality — a  simple  indication  of  good  sense.  There  is 
a  wide  difference  between  modesty  and  humility  :  true  hu- 
mility is  a  miracle  of  excellence  which  is  very  rare ;  it  can 
only  be  given  to  tlie  minister  by  means  of  a  grace  that  is 
supernatural.  Only  love  can  dethrone  self-love  from  the 
heart.  Love  is  an  ardent,  passionate  surrender  of  the  spirit, 
which  separates  from  all  that  is  not  akin  to  itself,  whether  its 
offer  be  one  of  blame  or  of  eulogy.  Only  in  love  are  to  be 
found  the  elements  required  to  effect  conversion.  A  pastor 
must  love  his  flock  before  he  can  preach  to  it  effectively. 

[There  is  one  form  of  self-love  which  manifests  itself  in 
the  ministry  more  than  in  any  other  profession — the  love  of 
command.  The  pastor  is  the  only  one  of  his  order  in  his 
parish ;  he  is  called  to  command.  In  public,  certainly  no 
one  can  dispute  his  prerogative ;  he  has  a  monopoly  of  utter- 
ance. Often  he  has  to  do  with  persons  who  show  him  great 
respect,  because  they  are  more  or  less  dependent  upon  him. 
This  habit  of  command,  which  is  so  easily  contracted,  nar- 
rows and  warps  the  view,  or  alienates  the  affections  of  those 
who  cannot  sacrifice  their  tastes  to  the  tastes  of  their  pastor. 
Chrysostom  has,  in  an  admirably  forcible  way,  exhibited  the 
danger  of  self-love  in  the  ministry.* 

[The  danger  of  self-love  is  greater  with  the  Protestant  than 
with  the  Catholic,  who  speaks  much  less.  It  is  very  diflBcult 
for  a  Protestant  minister  to  avoid  sacrificing  something  in 
order  to  gratify  his  ideas  of  good  rhetoric.  At  all  events, 
the  good  preacher  is  a  good  orator ;  and  when  perfection  is 
sought  for  on  its  own  account,  it  is  very  difficult  to  refrain 
from  seeking  it  in  order  to  please ;  were  it  even  only  to  please 

*  Crysostom,  De  Saccrdotio,  lib.  v.,  4,  7,  8.     Gregory  Nazianzen 
expresses  himself  thus:   "In  every  spiritual  function  the  rule  is, 
that  what  is  personal  should  be  sacrificed  in  order  to  secure  the  in- 
terests of  others." 
4 


98  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

the  preacher  liiniself.  This  leads  men  to  regard  the  ideas 
which  are  to  be  presented  as  only  a  neutral  subsfratum,  which 
have  no  value  apart  from  the  form  which  is  given  to  them.] 

12.  Internal  conflicts  between  faith  and  doubt — (in  German 
Anfectumjen'^) — conflicts  perhaps  more  frequent  and  more 
deep  in  the  case  of  the  pastor  than  in  the  case  of  the  hum- 
bler believers,  in  the  midst  of  whom  he  pursues  his  minis- 
terial avocations.  [Doubt,  as  a  psychological  fact,  has  been 
but  little  studied ;  there  is  a  philosophic  doubt,  and  there  is 
a  doubt  which  results  from  ignorance ;  we  do  not  now  attend 
to  these.  But  is  there  no  other  kind  of  doubting  besides  ? 
Is  there  not  a  state  in  which  the  best  proofs  cannot  dissipate 
doubt  ?  The  intellectual  proofs  are  there,  and  yet  the  soul 
hesitates.  Christian  certitude  is  another  thing  than  the  cer- 
titude of  intelligence.  Doubt  is  a  void,  a  kind  of  temptation, 
through  which  every  man  passes.  When  the  life  is  en- 
feebled, faith  is  weak.  Faith  creates  life,  but  life  must  sus- 
tain faith.  Faith  is  a  vision ;  when  it  is  not,  it  descends  to 
the  rank  of  mere  belief  Faith  is  one  in  nature,  but  it  has 
degrees  of  intensity.  And  if,  while  faith  languishes,  we 
could  retire,  collect  our  thoughts,  interrupt  all  those  works 
which  faith  supposes,  we  should  not  be  so  unhappy ;  but  we 
cannot — we  must  always  preach.  Every  one  may  find  himself 
in  the  condition  into  which  Richard  Baxter  fell,  and  feel  him- 
self all  at  once  plunged  into  an  absolute  void,  in  which  all  things 
have  escaped,  even  the  most  fundamental  beliefs.  This  is  a 
fearful  state,  and  must  be  banished — the  believer  so  troubled 
must  resolutely  strain  all  the  forces  of  his  spirit  in  order  to 
breathe  out  a  fervent  prayer.] 

13.  Humiliating  consciousness  of  the  vast  difference  hetiveen 
the  man  and  the  preacher*     [Where  is  the  man  who,  how 

*  See  Newton's  Omicron,  Letter  xiii.,  On  the  dangers  to  which  the 
minister  of  the  gospel  is  exposed. 


INTRODUCTION.  99 

faithful  soever  he  may  be,  has  not  sometimes  flagged  ?]  We 
must  feel  ourselves  rebuked  by  such  words  as  these  :  "  What 
hast  thou  to  do  to  declare  my  statutes,  or  that  thou  shouldcst 
take  my  covenant  in  thy  mouth  ?  Seeing  thou  hatest  instruc- 
tion, and  castcst  my  words  behind  thee."     Ps.  1.  IG,  17. 

14.  The  agonizing  thought  that  he  carries  in  his  hands  the 
destinies  of  so  many  spirits,  and  that  he  exercises  a  ministry 
which,  if  it  does  not  quicken,  destroys.  He  destroys  those 
who  might,  but  will  not,  profit  by  his  ministry — he  aggra- 
vates their  condemnation.  This  is  a  fact  for  the  most  faith- 
ful ministry.  As  to  that  which  is  exercised  unfaithfully,  and 
in  which  the  life  docs  not  answer  to  the  words,  the  minister 
destroys  in  another  sense.*  Impressed  by  the  thought  that 
the  obstacles  which  we  cause  are  the  greatest  of  all,  and  that 
the  least  of  our  acts  of  infidelity  involve  gravest  results,  we 
may  well  tremble  and  exclaim,  Lord,  send  some  other.  Let 
us  listen  to  the  words  of  Massillon  :  "The  gospel  of  most 
people  is  the  life  of  the  priests  whom  they  observe."  And 
this  will  always  be,  even  in  the  heart  of  Protestantism.  "They 
regard  the  public  ministry  as  a  scene  destined  to  display  the 
great  maxims  which  are  no  longer  accessible  to  feeble  hu- 
manity, but  they  regard  our  life  as  the  reality  and  practical 
abatement  which  they  are  to  follow  as  a  model."  "We  are 
the  pillars  of  the  sanctuary,  which,  however,  if  they  are  dis- 
persed confessedly  in  the  public  places,  become  stones  of 
stumbling  to  pan^ers-by."")' 

15.  The  most-  deplorable  case  is  when  these  evils  which 
ought  only  to  be  healed  by  consolations  from  on  high  are 

*  "  Par  fois  li  comnninal  clergi(5 
Voi  je  ni.ilement  cngigniij: 
Icil  font  le  siccle  mescroirc." 

La  Bible  Guvot,  (Tliirtecnth  Century.) 
f  Mnssillon's  Discourse  on  the  Excellency  of  the  Priesthood ;  near 
the  end  of  the  first  reflection. 


100  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

healed  by  hahit,  and  by  a  fatal  resignation  to  tliem,  wliicli  is 
only  too  often  the  case.  [It  has  been  said  that  ''  Repentance 
exhausts  the  soul/'*  and  puts  it,  so  to  speak,  in  ill  humor 
with  itself.] 

All  these  evils  are  formidable  to  the  spirit;  but  of  many 
of  them  we  must  say  that  it  is  more  fatal  to  evade  than  griev- 
ous to  submit  to  them,  and  all  ought  to  be  anticipated,  and, 
as  it  were,  experienced  beforehand. 

To  this,  perhaps  incomplete,  enumeration  of  disadvantages, 
in  which  we  do  not  think  one  feature  has  been  too  strongly 
colored,  we  may  undoubtedly  oppose,  by  way  of  compensation, 
the  following  advantages : 

Religion,  which  is  the  most  excellent  and  comprehensive 
thing  in  man,  is,  for  the  minister,  the  business  and  duty  of 
every  day,  and  every  hour :  that  which  is  only  one  among 
many  elements  in  the  life  of  other  men  is  the  atmosphere  in 
which  he  breathes. 

He  lives  surrounded  by  the  loftiest  and  grandest  ideas,  and 
his  employments  are  of  the  most  absolute  and  lasting  utility. 

He  is  not  called  upon  to  do  any  thing  but  what  is  really 
good — he  has  neither  obligation  nor  inducement  to  the  per- 
formance of  evil. 

He  occupies  no  rank  in  the  social  hierarchy,  belongs  to  no 
class,  but  he  is  a  connecting-link  between  all,  and,  in  his  own 
person,  represents  better  than  any  one  else  the  ideal  unity  of 
society.  [The  minister,  it  is  true,  is  not  so  advantageously 
situated,  in  this  respect,  as  the  unmarried,  priest.  But  he 
may,  if  he  will,  assert  this  as  his  prerogative.] 

His  life,  unless  under  circumstances  of  striking  misfor- 
tune, is  best  adapted  to  exhibit  the  realized  ideal  of  a  happy 
existence.  [There  is  a  stately  regularity,  a  sort  of  calm  uni- 
formity, which  is  perhaps   the  true  latitude  for  terrestrial 


*  Alluding  to  a  passage  of  the  Corinne,  Book  x.,  ch.  v. — Ed. 


INTRODUCTION.  101 

happiness.]  The  predilection  of  poets  and  romance-writers 
for  the  country  pastor  is  not  altogether  unfounded  in  fact  and 
reason. 

All  this  is  true  only  on  the  supposition  that  the  pastor  is 
faithful,  and  filled  with  the  spirit  of  his  position ;  and  if  ho 
is,  all  that  is  evil  is  counterbalanced,  corrected,  transformed, 
and  it  is  sufficient  for  him,  without  weighing  too  minutely 
the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  his  state,  to  make  one 
reflection:  "Jesus  Christ  has  appointed  for  his  ministers 
painful  tests,  both  internal  and  external,  in  order  that  they 
may  be  able  to  sympathize  with  their  flock,  and  to  know, 
through  the  experience  of  their  own  hearts,  the  seductions 
of  sin,  the  infirmities  of  the  flesh,  and  the  manner  in  which 
the  Lord  of  all  sustains  and  supports  those  who  put  their 
trust  in  him."*  So  that,  to  a  certain  degree,  those  words 
which  are  spoken  concerning  Jesus  Christ  maybe  transferred 
to  him  :  "  "We  have  not  an  High  Priest  which  cannot  be 
touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but  was  in  all 
points  tempted  like  as  we  are."     Heb.  iv.  15. 

Lastl}',  the  word  of  God,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  pro- 
nounces a  peculiar  blessing  on  his  works  and  his  condition. 
It  declares,  (observe  the  gradation,)  that  "  They  that  be  wise 

*  [M.  Vinet  gives  this  as  a  quotation  from  Newton's  Cardiphonia. 
I  have  translated  the  passage  as  M.  Vinet  himself  gives  it.  I  pre- 
sume he  adopted  it  from  the  following  sentiment  in  Newton's  Cardi- 
phoni.a,  which  is  the  only  one  I  have  been  able  to  find  that  at  all  cor- 
responds to  that  expressed  bj'  M.  Vinet:  "The  people  of  God  are 
sure  to  meet  with  enemies,  but  especially  the  ministers.  Satan  bears 
them  a  double  grudge:  the  world  watches  for  their  halting,  and  tlie 
Lord  will  suffer  them  to  be  afflicted,  that  they  may  be  kept  humble, 
that  they  may  acquire  a  sympathy  witli  the  suffering  of  others,  lliat 
tjiey  may  be  experimentally  qualified  to  advise  and  help  them  with 
the  comforts  with  which  they  themselves  have  been  cnmfortod  of 
God." — Newton's  Cardiphonia.     Letter  I.,  to  Rev.  Mr.  B.— Tkans- 

LATOR.] 


102  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

shall  shine  as  tlie  brightness  of  the  firmament;  and  they 
that  turn  many  to  righteousness,  as  the  stars  for  ever  and 
ever."  Dan.  xii.  3.  And  Jesus  Christ,  when  he  promises 
to  his  immediate  disciples  that,  at  the  restoration  of  all 
things,  they  "  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel,"  presents  to  our  view  a  proportion- 
ate glory  and  recompense  for  their  successors.  Matt.  xix. 
28.  Such  an  honor  and  blessing  belong  to  the  ministry, 
that  even  those  who  aid  it  by  their  cooperation  are  the  ob- 
jects of  special  promises :  "  He  that  receiveth  a  prophet 
in  the  name  of  a  prophet  shall  receive  a  prophet's  reward." 
Matt.  X.  41. 

§  VII. — VOCATION    TO   THE   EVANGELICAL    MINISTRY. 

But  the  advantages  which  belong  to  the  present  life, 
which  we  have  indicated,  and  the  promises  for  the  life  to 
come,  which  we  liave  called  to  mind,  would  be,  the  first  en- 
tirely illusory,  the  second  without  efiect,  for  the  minister  who 
should  enter  upon  his  office  without  any  vocation.  This  it 
is  which  we  must  cast  into  the  balance  in  order  to  outweigh 
and  alleviate  the  griefs  and  weariness  that  are  in  the  other 
scale  of  the  balance,  and  which  the  absence  of  a  vocation 
not  only  leaves  unremedied,  but  even  aggravates  most  fear- 
fully. Apart  from  a  vocation,  all  the  advantages  vanish — 
some  of  the  disadvantages  also  disappear,  and  a  life  remains 
the  most  false,  and  consequently  the  most  unhappy,  that  can 
be  imagined. 

It  is  always  unhappy  to  feel  unequal  to  the  duty  which 
belongs  to  us,  or  to  feel  a  want  of  sympathy  with  it.  But 
this  unhappiness  is  inexpressible  in  the  case  of  a  minister, 
and  nothing  but  hardness  of  heart  or  degradation  can  save 
him  from  it ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  let  the  troubles  of 
ministerial  life  be  aggravated  in  the  highest  degree,  the  fact 


J 


INTRODUCTION.  103 

of  a  vocation  corrects  all,  renders  him  content  •with  all,  yea, 
makes  these  very  misfortunes  an  important  clement  in  his 
happiness. 

But  the  idea  of  a  vocation  is  to  be  regarded  not  only  as  it 
affects  the  happiness  or  the  misery  of  the  minister.  The 
minister  without  a  vocation  is  not  only  unhappy,  he  is  guilty : 
he  occupies  a  place,  he  exercises  a  right  which  does  not  be- 
long to  him.  He  is,  as  Jesus  Christ  said,  ''a  thief  and  a 
robber,"  who  has  not  entered  in  through  the  gate,  but 
climbed  up  some  other  way. 

This  word  vocation  has,  in  other  applications,  (that  is  to 
say,  as  applied  to  professions  of  a  secular  order,)  only  a  figu- 
rative significance — at  least,  only  a  figurative  significance  is 
attributed  to  it.  It  is  equivalent  to  aptitude,  talent,  taste. 
It  is  natural  to  represent  these  qualifications  as  voices,  as  ap- 
peals. But  when  applied  to  the  ministry,  the  word  returns 
to  its  proper  sense.  When  conscience  authorizes  and  impels 
us  to  the  discharge  of  a  certain  duty,  we  have  that  which, 
although  out  of  the  sphere  of  miracle,  deserves  most  fully 
the  name  of  vocation.  In  order  to  exercise  the  ministry 
legitimately,  a  man  must  be  called  to  it. 

I  do  not  wish,  however,  to  draw  too  exact  a  line  between 
the  ministry  and  other  professions,  so  far  as  the  fact  of  voca- 
tion is  concerned.  Wherever  there  is  responsibility,  wherever 
a  man  may  injure  himself  by  undertaking  a  work  for  which 
he  is  not  qualified,  there  is  reason  for  him  to  ask  of  himself 
whether  or  not  he  is  called.  And  even  between  two  courses 
of  conduct,  to  one  of  which  the  individual  is  more  adapted 
tlian  to  the  other,  and  in  one  of  which  he  can  be  more  use- 
ful than  in  the  other,  there  is  one  to  which  we  may  say,  look- 
ing at  the  fact  from  a  Christian  point  of  view,  he  is  called. 

This  idea  has  been  consecrated  in  the  ancient  covenant,  in 
which  all  the  parties,  if  they  were  spiritual,  transferred  their 
alliance  to  the  new  covenant.     No  one  was  a  prophet  to  his 


104  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

chief — not,  at  least,  in  the  special  sense  of  the  vrord  propJiei ; 
for  it  is  in  quite  another  sense  that  prophecy  belongs  to  all, 
as  is  well  indicated  in  the  beautiful  words  of  Moses  :  ''  Would 
God  that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets  !"  Num.  si.  29. 
He  referred  to  an  extraordinary  vocation  because  it  conferred 
extraordinary  powers.  Whatever  may  be  the  authority  of 
the  pastor,  it  will,  in  one  sense,  always  remain  inferior  to  that 
of  the  prophet.*  Prophets  who  were  invested  with  such  an 
authority  could  not  be  so  without  an  express  vocation ;  and, 
thus  regarded,  we  can  well  understand  the  denunciations 
uttered  against  those  who  prophesied  without  a  vocation. 
"  The  prophet  which  shall  presume  to  speak  a  word  in  my 
name  which  I  have  not  commanded  him  to  speak,  .  .  .  that 
prophet  shall  die."  Deut.  xviii.  20.  "  Say  thou  unto  them 
that  prophesy  out  of  their  own  hearts,  Hear  ye  the  word  of 
the  Lord ;  thus  saith  the  Lord  God :  Woe  unto  the  foolish 
prophets  that  follow  their  own  spirit,  and  have  seen  no- 
thing l"-\  Ezek.  xiii.  2,  3.^  "  I  am  against  the  prophets, 
saith  the  Lord,  that  steal  my  words."    Jer.  xxiii.  30. 

Now  that  the  voice  of  God  is  not  addressed  directly  and 
sensibly  to  any  individual,  calling  him  to  be  a  prophet,  we 
distinguish  between  two  kinds  of  vocation,  one  exterior,  the 
other  interior  ;  but  it  is  clear  that  both  these,  in  order  to  be 
true,  ought  to  come  from  God ;  for,  in  all  cases,  it  must  be 
God  who  calls  men  to  his  own  work. 

Now,  an  exterior  or  mediate  vocation  can  only  have  this 
characteristic  for  us  so  far  as  the  men  through  whom  it  comes 
have,  in  our  eyes,  full  powers,  either  conferred  in  casu,  or 
conferred  at  first  directly  on  some,  by  whom  they  have  been 

*  See  Isa.  xxxix.  3,  and  the  following  verses. 

f  This  same  idea  is  symbolized  in  Num.  i.  51 :  "  When  the  taber- 
nacle is  to  be  pitched,  the  Levites  shall  set  it  up;  and  the  stranger 
that  Cometh  nigh  shall  be  put  to  death." 


INTRODUCTION.  105 

liandcd  down  to  others,  and  so  on.  This  is  the  system 
or  the  claim  of  the  Romanist.  We  will  not  now  discuss 
it.* 

In  the  Protestant  system,  which  denies  the  Romanist  suc- 
cession, and  does  not  pretend  to  commence  a  new  one,  there 
is  nothing  parallel  to  this  transmission  of  fullest  powers,  the 
object  of  which,  moreover,  we  cannot  see,  for  this  legal  trans- 
mission corresponds  to  no  want  which  cannot  be  satisfied 
without  it.  It  would  be  necessary,  in  order  to  cause  such  a 
want,  to  deprive  the  Church  of  the  influences  of  the  Holy 


*  [In  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  the  question  of  the 
succession  gave  rise  to  many  disputes,  in  which  the  Catholics,  who 
had  a  more  defined  and  absolute  doctrine,  had  a  great  advantage,  and 
a  more  impregnable  position  than  the  Protestants,  who,  while  they 
wished  entirely  to  abolish  the  priesthood,  yet  wished  to  preserve  the 
succession.  Dumoulin  took  great  pains  to  prove  that  all  Protestant 
ministers  had  been  consecrated  by  Catholics.  This  was  false  and 
fruitless.  The  time  has  now  passed  for  such  notions ;  the  assump- 
tion has  been  allowed  to  fall  to  the  ground.  The  Archbishop  of  Dub- 
lin, an  Anglican,  has  shown  most  convincingly  that  the  idea  of  the 
succession  is  an  illusion.  In  his  view,  indeed,  one  single  instance 
of  irregularity  is  sufficient  to  break  the  chain.*  However,  this  idea 
is  of  very  little  importance  to  us.  Claude  has  already  combated  it, 
but  his  arguments  are  not  always  happy.  In  his  view,  an  external 
vocation  is  conferred  by  the  Church  and  the  pastors  united.  He 
does  not  wish  to  regard  it  as  conferred  by  the  pastors  alone,  for  they 
may  not  be  faithful,  but  in  the  Church  there  are  always  some  who 
are  faithful,  who  may  worthily  be  called  saints.  There  is  then  an 
uninterrupted  succession  in  tlie  appeals  which  are  continually  ad- 
dressed bj'  this  universal  and  eternal  Church.  However,  he  admits 
th.at  a  single  Church  may  sometimes  call  a  pastor  without  the  con- 
currence of  other  pastors.] 

*  Scfi  Whatcly's  Kingdom  of  Christ. 

[Sec  .-jIso  Powell  on  Succession;  Stillingfleet'.s  Irenicum;  M»son\«  Kssnys  on 
Kpiscopacy:  Smyth's  Succession,  nnri  Presbytery  not  Prelacy;  JMncaulny'R 
Kss!iy  <.n  Cliurch  and  State.— T.  O.  S.] 


106  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

Spirit.  But  as  he  only  acts  by  a  transmission  of  spirit  and 
life,  and  not  by  the  communication  of  oracles,  or  by  the  ad- 
ministration of  a  miraculous  power,  the  ordinary  action  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  suffices.  External  vocation,  if  it  is  to  be 
admitted  at  all,  must  occupy  a  subordinate  rank,  and  remain 
in  a  human  sphere. 

Further,  as  soon  as  the  outward  is  allowed  to  remain  in 
conjunction  with  an  internal  vocation,  as  soon  as  its  proper 
place  is  conceded  to  the  latter,  the  external  vocation  becomes 
necessarily  inferior.  Romanists  have  not  been  able  to  deny 
this ;  and  in  order  that  the  internal  calling  may  not  be  al- 
lowed to  occupy  the  whole  sphere,  and  absorb  into  itself  the 
external,  they  have  assigned  for  the  outward  vocation  extra- 
ordinary reasons,  which  we,  for  our  part,  are  unable  to  give 
it,  and  without  which  it  cannot  be,  on  the  one  hand,  any 
thing  but  a  badge  or  a  measure  of  order,  nor,  on  the  other 
hand,  can  it  be  aught  than  an  aid  or  a  supplement  to  the  in- 
ternal vocation.  The  external  vocation,  in  our  system,  can 
only  be  recognized  so  far  as  it  is  an  indication  of  an  internal 
vocation ;  the  judgment  that  concerns  what  is  outward  is 
conjoined  to  that  which  concerns  what  is  inward,  but  always 
as  occupying  a  lower  place. 

We  may,  moreover,  abandon  the  whole  question.  The 
necessity  of  an  internal  calling,  which  is  recognized  by  Ca- 
tholics as  well  as  by  Protestants,  is  that  which  must  occupy 
us  here.  What  we  have  now  to  establish  is,  that  without 
this  vocation — that  is  to  say,  unless  a  man  has  been  inwardly 
called  of  God — he  cannot,  without  unhappiness  and  without 
sin,  put  his  hand  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  or,  to  speak 
more  accurately,  take  a  position  as  minister  in  the  Church. 
As  to  the  fact  or  necessity  of  being  called  by  others,  this  is 
a  question  that  I  shall  not  now  enter  upon,  either  to  affirm  or 
to  deny  it.  I  will  leave  a  question  on  which  there  may  be 
varying  opinions,  and  which  does  not  even  belong  to  my  sub- 


INTRODUCTION.  107 

ject,  and  I  will  only  treat  of  that  about  which  all  are  agreed, 
and  which  does  belong  to  my  subject. 

As  the  minister  presents  himself  in  the  name  of  another, 
that  is,  in  the  name  of  God,  it  is  necessary  that  he  should  be 
sent.  The  prophet  does  not  say,  I  choose  to  go;  he  says, 
"Here  am  I,  Lord  :  send  me."  Isa.  vi.  8.  Spontaneity  in 
this  matter  does  not  exclude  the  fact  of  a  mission  or  a  voca- 
tion. The  business  of  the  pastor  is  an  office,  a  ministry. 
This  implies  a  commission  or  vocation.  Without  a  vocation 
a  man  cannot  be  a  minister,  any  more  than  he  can  be  a  ma- 
gistrate or  judge  without  a  royal  commission. 

It  follows  that  the  minister  cannot  rely  upon  the  assistance 
and  favor  of  G-od  unless  he  has  been  sent  by  him.  It  is  true 
that  a  minister  without  a  vocation  cares  little  for  these  graces ; 
but  we  must  look  at  other  cases  than  the  extreme  one  of  a 
minister  without  any  appreciation  of  the  object  of  his  mission, 
and  without  any  desire  to  correspond  to  it — an  open  rohhcr, 
to  use  the  words  of  the  Gospel.  Without  any  vocation,  a 
man  may  be  willing  to  act  according  to  the  name  which  he 
possesses,  at  least  in  a  negative  manner — he  may  wish  to 
avoid  all  that  may  cause  offence,  he  may  desire  to  do  honor 
to  his  position,  and  not  to  profane  the  ministry;  but  how 
shall  he  dare  to  expect  even  this  amount  of  success,  how 
shall  he  dare  to  ask  for  such  influence  as  he  ought  to  possess, 
when  he  occupies  a  position  to  which  he  has  no  just  title, 
and  when  the  first  means  of  seeking  the  favors  of  Heaven 
would  be  to  resign  his  charge  ? 

A  pastor  must  therefore  be  called  by  God ;  the  vocation  to 
a  ministry  exercised  in  his  name,  and  in  which  he  is  repre- 
sented, can  only  proceed  from  him.*  These  duties,  indeed, 
arc  not  our  own ;  they  belong  to  another — that  is,  to  God ; 

*  Jer.  xxiii.  21 ;  Ezek,  xiii,  2. 


108  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

in  a  word,  they  constitute  a  numstrT/.  The  vocation,  whether 
external  or  internal,  must  be  Divine ;  and  for  this  reason  we 
prefer  the  terms  mediate  and  immediate  in  this  connection. 

In  order  that  the  first — the  m,ediate  vocation — may  come 
from  God,  it  is  necessary  that  those  who  claim  it  should  have 
received  full  power  from  God,  or  from  other  men  to  whom 
God  has  intrusted  the  same  full  power.  If  this  full  power 
is  denied,  the  exterior  or  mediate  vocation  sinks  to  the  level 
of  an  arbitrary  arrangement,  regulating  the  interior  relations 
of  a  religious  society,  in  which  the  general  fitness  of  the 
minister  is  not  rigorously  proved,  but  only  presumed ;  and, 
so  far  as  the  candidate  himself  is  concerned,  this  convention 
is  only  an  additional  means  of  proving  his  vocation.  We 
need  not  longer  regard  the  subject  from  this  point  of  view. 

Besides  that  the  ministry  is  purely  moral,  not  sacramental, 
the  conditions  for  it  are  purely  moral,  and  an  immediate 
vocation  ought  to  suffice.*  In  one  system,  therefore,  it  is 
enough,  and  in  both  systems  it  is  considered  necessary.  In 
no  ecclesiastical  system  that  is  founded  on  Christianity  has 
it  been  possible  to  neglect  it,  or  even  to  refuse  setting  a  high 
value  upon  it;  there  is  only  one  system  under  which  it  could 
be  superfluous — that,  namely,  of  a  theocracy  sustained  by  mira- 
cles.f    Missions  like  that  of  Jonah  are  not  conceivable  under 

*  Immediate  vocation  is  exterior  or  interior.  Exterior,  when  God 
himself,  in  his  own  person,  utters  his  commands  and  declares  his 
will ;  this  is  the  miraculous  call  addressed  to  prophets  by  a  voice  in 
apparition  or  in  vision. 

f  Even  then  it  has  not  been  treated  as  superfluous.  It  is  not  in 
all  cases  necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  Divine  purposes, 
but  it  is  in  every  case  necessary  for  him  who  accomplishes  them. 
Jonah  and  Balaam  performed  the  Divine  will  in  spite  of  their  own 
opposite  sympathies,  and  not  because  of  them.  Isaiah  said,  "  Send 
me;"  ch.  vi.  8.  And  the  personal  character  and  iitness  of  the  mes- 
senger has  almost  always,  even  under  the  ancient  law,  been  reckoned 


I 


INTRODUCTION.  lOO 

the  law  of  tlic  gospel.  But  -wherever  an  external  vocation  in 
declared  indispensahlc,  the  interior  or  immediate  vocation 
necessarily  suffers. 

Roman  Catholic  writers  have  always  found  a  difficulty  in 
explaining  themselves  on  this  point.  St.  Cyran,  for  example, 
with  an  evident  leaning  towards  the  interior  vocation,  and 
hardly  knowing  how  most  forcibly  to  advocate  the  exterior, 
expresses  himself  thus :  "As  he  who  has  not  received  any 
external  vocation  from  the  Church  to  be  a  priest,  cannot  do 
any  thing  useful  for  it  in  the  judgment  of  the  Church, 
although  he  may  perform  the  same  outward  works,  administer 
the  same  sacraments,  and  preach  the  same  gospel  as  other 
priests  who  have  been  called  and  ordained  by  the  Church ; 
so  he  who  has  not  the  intei'nal  vocation  of  God  to  the  eccle- 
siastical condition,  to  the  priesthood,  or  to  a  curacy,  cannot 
do  any  thing  good  for  himself  in  the  judgment  of  God,  al- 
though he  may  perform  the  same  good  works  and  administer 
the  same  sacraments  as  the  priests  whom  God  has  called.* 

Those  who  believe  in  the  sufficiency  of  an  interior  voca- 
tion, may  be  content  with  the  second  clause  in  this  paragraph ; 
and  the  first  part  will  not  occasion  them  much  anxiety,  since 
they  are  told  that,  although  not  ordained  by  the  Church, 
they  can  preach  the  gospel.  We  can,  therefore,  do  all ;  for 
all  is  included  in  this ;  unless  the  administration  of  the  sa- 
crament implies  a  miraculous  power,  which  certainly  no  one 
can  attribute  to  it  on  his  own  authority,  and  for  which  the 
internal  vocation  would  not  suffice,  unless  it  had  in  itself  a 
iniraculous  character. 

But  a  question  presents  itself.     As  an  immediate  vocation 

as  something,  indeed  as  much,  in  the  success  of  the  mission.     Many 
things  appear  to  have  been  left  to  the  free  determination  of  the  pro- 
phets.    A  considerable  range  of  free  action  was  even  reserved  for 
the  Levite  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  duties.     Sec  Deut.  xviii.  6. 
*  St.  Cyran:  Letter  to  M.  Giiillcbert  on  the  Priesthood,  chnp.  xxv. 


110  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

is  no  longer  given  directly  by  God  to  man  by  a  miraculous 
voice,  must  we  say  that  no  such  thing  exists  ? 

We  must  say  so,  if,  indeed,  in  the  absence  of  supernatural 
communication,  man  has  no  means  of  assuring  himself  of 
the  will  of  God  concerning  any  particular  case,  or  in  regard 
to  any  choice  that  is  to  be  made  between  several  determina- 
tions, each  of  which  is  in  harmony  with  the  general  princi- 
ples of  moral  and  spiritual  truth. 

For  it  is  here,  and  here  alone,  that  the  word  vocation  is 
applicable.  There  is  no  room  for  any  vocation,  so  far  as  the 
practice  of  the  general  duties  of  morality  is  concerned.  A 
vocation  is  demanded  when  a  man  is  required  to  choose 
between  two  courses,  two  modes  of  employing  his  faculties, 
both  sanctioned  by  morality,  and  by  the  general  spirit  of  the 
gospel. 

When,  therefore,  a  sensible  call,  expressly  uttered  by  God, 
is  wanting,  how  shall  its  place  be  supplied  ?  [In  other  words, 
how  shall  we  recognize  the  fact  that  we  are  called  ?  Cer- 
tainly this  will  not  be  because  the  exercise  of  the  ministry 
will  procure  us  a  happy  and  tranquil  position.  Neither  can 
we  regard  as  a  vocation  the  wishes  and  prayers  of  parents, 
although  those  pious  wishes  may  be  blessed,  and  have  in  the 
case  of  many  pastors  been,  in  a  sense,  an  anticipated  voca- 
tion. The  spirit  of  a  child,  destined  for  the  ministry  by  its 
parents,  forms  a  kind  of  bent  in  this  direction ;  but  this  is 
not  a  vocation.  Still  less  is  constraint.  It  was  exercised  in 
the  earlier  ages  of  the  Church.  The  idea  of  the  priest  and 
of  sacrifice,  had,  in  the  time  of  Chrysostom,  made  great  ad- 
vances ;  and  this  will  explain  how  it  was  that  such  a  character 
could  be  conferred  by  constraint.  The  same  must  be  said  of 
other  signs  which  are  sufficient  to  many  persons.  The  signs 
are  first  selected  and  then  interpreted ;  that  is  to  say,  the  in- 
dividual makes  his  own  choice.  This  is  a  species  of  spiritual 
indolence  among  Christians  who  wish  for  truth  fully  com- 


INTRODUCTION.  Ill 

plcted,  without  giving  themselves  the  ti'ouble  to  seek  it  by 
prayer,  kbor,  and  application.  So  long  as  we  have  conscience 
and  the  word  of  God,  we  have  enough.  Lastly,  no  one  will 
surely  say  that  interest  will  supply  that  direct  call  from  God 
which  we  are  at  present  considering. 

[What  then  are  the  trustworthy  indications  ?] 

The  vocation  of  the  minister  is  proved,  as  in  every  other 
case,  by  natural  means,  under  the  guidance  of  the  word  and 
Spirit  of  God.  The  general  principle  involved  in  the  idea 
of  vocation  is,  to  decide  upon  the  career  for  which  the  indi- 
vidual feels  himself  best  adapted,  and  in  which  he  thinks  he 
can  be  most  useful ;  and,  in  such  a  matter  as  this,  clearness 
and  decision  ought  to  result  from  a  combined  view  of  cir- 
cumstances, and  those  principles  which  are  given  to  us  by 
our  common  sense,  and  by  God  himself.*  But  when  a  moral 
action  is  conceived,  when  the  soul  is  the  instrument  to  be 
employed,  then  regard  must  be  had  to  the  state  of  the  soul ; 
and  this  state  is  the  first  clement  in  the  vocation.  When 
any  other  career  is  purposed,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to 
consider  by  themselves  the  feelings  which  we  may  have  rela- 
tive to  that  career,  to  refrain  from  it,  even  though  our  tastes 
may  incline  towards  it ;  to  follow  it,  even  though  our  tastes 
may  point  in  a  diflferent  direction. f  This  is  not  the  general 
rule,  but  a  more  or  less  frequent  exception  to  it.  Here,  that 
is  to  say,  so  far  as  regards  the  ministry,  there  is  no  excep- 
tion whatever;  the  rule  is  absolute.  There  must  be  conform- 
ity of  the  soul  to  the  object  of  the  ministry;  and  this  con- 

*  "I  have  never  represented  to  mj'self  .a Divine  calling  (Gcittlicher 
Bcruf)  otherwise  than  as  an  exterior  occasion  ■which  is  furnished 
me  to  do  an<l  to  realize  something  good,  under  a  religious  impulsion, 
and  consequently  througii  the  agency  of  God."' — Plank.  JJas  erste 
AmtKJahr,  p.  8. 

f  There  can  be,  in  tliis  sense,  a  vocalio  ab,  as  well  as  a  vocatio  ad. 


112  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

formity  is  com^DOsed  of  three  elements — faith,  taste,  or  desire, 
and  fear.'''' 

With  regard  to  faith,  or  a  belief  in  the  reality  of  the  ob- 
ject, in  the  truth  of  the  message  with  which  the  minister  is 
charged,  this  is  too  obvious  to  need  explanation  or  proof. 

In  order  that  there  may  be  a  vocation,  desire  ought  to  be 
added  to  faith.  For  if  faith  were  enough,  every  Christian 
ought  to  be  also  a  minister.  We  do  not  affirm  that  faith  im- 
plies the  desire.  It  does  indeed  imply  the  general  desire  to 
promote  the  glory  of  God  as  opportunity  may  present  itself, 
but  not  the  special  desire  of  assuming  this  as  an  office,  and 
of  consecrating  the  entire  life  to  this  work.  The  institution 
of  the  ministry  rests  on  the  very  supposition  that  every  one 
is  not  called  to  the  work.  But  when  appropriate  ability  is 
possessed,  will  not  this  supply  the  lack  of  desire,  and  suffice 
to  prove  the  vocation  ?  We  reply  that  such  ability  does  not 
exist  where  the  desire  is  wanting.  For  when  this  desire  is 
absent,  (and  we  have  seen  that  it  may  be  wanting  even  in  a 
true  Christian,)  there  is  not  that  harmony  between  the  man 
and  his  functions,  that  intimate  apprehension  of  the  thing, 
that  undivided  heart,  which  are  so  essential  to  success  in  this 
work.  We  do  not  say  that  a  Christian  who  is  thus  occupied, 
but  whose  tastes  are  not  in  his  work,  will  do  no  good  in  it ; 
we  only  say  that  he  has  no  vocation,  and  that  he  ought  to 
leave  this  duty  to  others,  except  in  places  and  times  in  which  it 
is  evidently  imposed  upon  him  by  Providence,  which,  in  the 
absence  of  any  suitable  instrument,  seems  to  say,  as  in  the 
vision  of  the  prophet,  "  Whom  shall  I  send  V  and  seems  to 
wait  for  the  man  capable  of  answering,  like  the  prophet, 
"  Here  am  I :  send  me  I"f 

'  f  ~~ 

*  "Rejoice  with  trembling."     Psalm  ii.  2. 

f  Isaiali  vi.  8.     [The  absence  of  taste  does  not  imply  repugnance, 

a  distaste  for  the  ministry,  which  cannot  exist  in  any  Christian :  it 

is  often  rather  a  taste  for  something  else.] 


INTRODUClTON.  113 

But  if  the  desire  is  the  first  sign  of  a  vocation,  this  sign  is 
equivocal.  The  object  of  the  desire  must  be  clearly  deter- 
mined, whether  it  refers  to  the  ministry  itself,  or  to  some 
other  thing  in  the  ministry  which  is  regarded.  The  taste, 
the  inclination  which  we  feel  for  the  ministry,  may  be  super- 
ficial, even  carnal,  erroneous  a#to  its  object.  What  is  wished 
in  the  ministry  may  be  an  honorable  and  respected  position, 
or  a  sphere  and  opportunities  for  the  cultivation  and  employ- 
ment of  talents  with  Avhich  the  individual  may  feel  himself 
endowed — a  great  power  of  utterance ;  an  admiration  for 
moral,  but  not  specially  religious  views;  or  a  vague  sentiment 
of  religion ;  or  an  unreflective  enthusiasm,  (an  ideal  repre- 
sentation, the  poetry  of  the  thing.)  In  these  questions,  the 
imagination  is  but  too  willing  to  put  itself  in  the  place  of  the 
heart  and  conscience. 

Newton  gives  a  very  admirable  rule  by  which  to  determine 
whether  the  desire  for  the  ministry  is  of  a  right  character  or 
not.  He  says  :  "  I  hold  it  a  good  rule  to  inquire  in  this 
point  whether  the  desire  to  preach  is  most  fervent  in  our  most 
lively  and  spiritual  frames,  or  when  we  are  most  laid  in  the 
dust  before  the  Lord  ?  If  so,  it  is  a  good  sign.  But  if,  as 
is  sometimes  the  case,  a  person  is  very  earnest  to  be  a  preacher 
to  others,  when  he  finds  but  little  hungeriugs  and  thirstings 
after  grace  in  his  own  soul,  it  is  then  to  be  feared  his  zeal 
springs  rather  from  a  selfish  principle  than  from  the  Spirit 
of  God."* 

We  may  give  a  rule  which  corresponds  to  Newton's,  by 
proposing  to  the  candidate  to  examine  whether  the  impulse 
which  leads  him  to  devote  himself  to  the  ministry  is  identical 
with  the  aim  of  the  ministry  itself.  If  his  ruling  motive  can 
express  itself  in  the  same  terms  as  those  which  are  used  to  de- 
fine the  nature  of  the  evangelical  ministry,  his  motive  is  good. 


*  Newton's  Cariliphonia,  Letter  I.,  to  Mr. . 


114  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

Can  you,  we  say  to  him,  adopt  as  tlie  expression  of  your 
heart's  desire  these  words  of  St.  Paul :  ''All  things  are  of 
God,  who  hath  reconciled  us  unto  himself  by  Jesus  Christ, 
and  hath  given  to  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation  :  to  wit, 
that  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself, 
not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them,  and  hath  committed 
unto  us  the  word  of  reconciliation.  Now,  then,  we  are  em- 
bassadors for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us  : 
we  pray  you,  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God  ?"  2 
Cor.  V.  18-20.  Do  you,  in  your  heart,  feel  any  such  senti- 
ments as  those  which  urged  St.  Paul  to  say,  "  My  little  chil- 
dren, of  whom  I  travail  in  birth  again,  until  Christ  be  formed 
in  you  ?"  Gal.  iv.  19.  Do  you,  with  your  whole  heart,  accept 
the  apostolic  precept,  "  Let  this  mind  be  in  you  which  was 
also  in  Christ  Jesus ;  who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought 
it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  but  made  himself  of  no 
reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant?"  Phil, 
ii.  5-7.  Can  you,  without  a  struggle,  enter  into  the  thought 
of  the  apostle,  who  said,  "  I  now  rejoice  in  my  sufferings  for 
you,  and  fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of 
Christ  in  my  flesh,  for  his  body's  sake,  which  is  the  Church  ?" 
Col.  i.  24. 

In  one  word,  is  yours  a  desire  flowing  from  love — ambition 
but  for  God  alone,  (desire  for  the  glory  of  God,)  a  love  for, 
or  at  least  an  acceptance  of  all  that  is  onerous,  irksome,  hu- 
miliating and  trifling  in  the  ministry — are  these  the  charac- 
teristics which  you  can  recognize  in  the  inclination  which 
leads  you  to  undertake  this  great  charge — do  you  find  it  to  be 
excellent  in  this  sense  and  on  these  conditions  ?  In  this 
case,  you  may  assure  yourself  that,  so  far  as  this  feature,  that 
of  desire,  is  concerned,  your  vocation  is  true  and  valid.* 

*  On  purity  of  intention,  see  Massillon's  Discourse  on  the  Voca- 
tion to  the  Ecclesiastical  State,  the  paragraph  commencing  with  the 


INTRODUCTION.  115 

[This  test  would  be  infallible  if  we  could  by  any  means 
take  it  completely  into  our  minds ;  but  we  are  easily  deceived. 
Let  us  then  enter  more  closely  into  the  examination  of  it. 

[He  who  possesses  a  genuine  vocation  ought  to  have  in 
some  degree,  ought  at  least  to  desire,  the  excellent  and  in- 
separable dispositions,  love  for  man,  love  of  the  glory  of  God, 
and  love  for  his  own  spiritual  welfare.  Let  us  first  consider 
the  love  for  the  glory  of  God,  though  this  is  not  usually  taken 
first.  The  tendency  which  induces  us  to  do  good  to  our  fel- 
lows is  excellent  and  necessary,  but  it  is  often  rather  a  na- 
tural than  a  Christian  sentiment.  A  certain  kind  of  benevo- 
lence may  be  easily  mistaken  for  charity,  the  love  for  souls. 
The  desire  to  do  good  to  humanity  may  be  taken  for  a  proof 
of  a  vocation  to  the  ministry.  A  more  elevated  spiritual 
afi'ection  is  demanded  of  us,  which  can  only  be  real  if  we  feel 
within  us  a  desire  after  the  glory  of  God.  But  we  may  have 
a  kind  of  logical  reasoning,  and,  so  to  speak,  imitative  regard 
for  God  :  God  has  done  all  for  us,  and  we  ought  to  do  all  we 
can  for  him.  This  is  not  true  love,  for  love  does  not  reason. 
Our  love  to  God  should  be  like  that  of  a  child  to  its  parents, 
or  a  wife  to  her  husband.  Nothing  is  more  strange  to  the 
heart  of  man  than  this  desire  for  the  glory  of  God :  nothing 
more  unmistakably  indicates  our  birth  into  a  new  life.  When 
we  foci  this  unknown  desire  kindled  within — a  desire  which 
is  so  strange  to  the  natural  man — the  wish  that  God  should 
be  honored  and  glorified  in  the  world,  then  we  may  believe 
ourselves  to  be  called  to  the  ministry ;  and  even  when  it  ap- 
pears quite  possible  that  souls  should  be  saved  otherwise  than 
by  our  means, "still  we  are  bound  to  go. 

[It  is  not  necessary  that  we  should  urge  the  necessity  of  a 
love  for  men.     A  regard  for  our  own  spiritual  welfare  is  only 

words,  "  The  last  proof  which  you  ought  to  give  to  your  conscieDce," 
etc. 


116  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

a  secondary  consideration.  We  may  seek  a  spiritual  asylum 
in  the  ministry,  we  may  desire  to  place  ourselves  under  the 
shelter  of  the  sanctuary,  but  this  ought  not  to  be  the  primary 
motive. 

[As  regards  fear  :  this  is  not  excluded  by  desire ;  the  two 
feelings  modify  each  other  ;  the  Psalmist  speaks  of  a  rejoicing 
that  is  attended  with  trembling.  This  fear  results  from  a 
combined  view  of  God's  glory  and  our  own  frailty.  New 
fears  take  possession  of  the  Christian  who,  before  his  con- 
version, did  not  fear  to  oifend  God,  and  much  more  will  the 
minister  have  this  feeling  of  his  own  unworthiness  and  im- 
potency.  This  fear  is  lawful,  necessary,  and  may  even  cause 
a  momentary  hesitancy  in  him  who  is  most  conscious  of  his 
vocation.  It  may  even  be  that  this  inclination  to  renounce 
his  position  may  arise,  not  after  a  fall,  but  in  the  highest  state 
of  Christian  stability.  This  fear  ought  never  to  vanish,  but 
it  should  be  counterbalanced  by  other  elements,  and  that  up 
to  the  close  of  the  pastoral  career.  Generally,  indeed,  it 
goes  on  increasing  perpetually,  because  the  more  the  ministry 
is  searched  into,  the  more  formidable  does  it  appear.  "  Who 
is  sufficient  for  these  things  r"'     2  Cor.  ii.  16.] 

After  this  we  must  mention  converaion*  as  among  the  ele- 
ments, and  at  the  head  of  the  elements,  required  for  a  true 
vocation.  Various  senses  may  be  attached  to  the  word  con- 
version, but  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  legitimacy  of  a 
vocation  which  is  attested  by  the  characteristics  which  wc 
have  indicated.  In  our  opinion,  conversion  is  implied  in  de- 
sire, as  we  have  exhibited  it.  This  desire  is  conversion  it- 
self, and  something  superadded  :  for  this  reason,  that  is  to 
say,  in  order  to  avoid  confusion  and  repetition,  we  have  not 
spoken  of  the  conversion  of  the  candidate  before  speaking  of 
an  inclination  to  the  ministry. 

*  "When  thou  art  converted,  strengthen  thy  brethren."  Luke 
xxii.  32. 


INTRODUCTION.  117 

However,  if  by  conversion  we  understand  a  love  to  Jesus 
Christ,  and  a  concern  for  his  glory,  doubtless  this  is  the  first 
seal  of  a  vocation.  We  may  love  Jesus  Christ,  and  yet  have 
no  vocation  to  the  ministry ;  but  no  one  can  have  such  a  vo- 
cation unless  he  loves  Jesus  Christ.  When  Jesus  Christ 
three  times  asked  Peter,  "  Lovest  thou  me  ?"  and  three  times, 
on  his  reply  in  the  affirmative,  said  to  him,  ''  Feed  my  sheep, 
feed  my  lambs,"  he  did  not  mean  to  teach  that  every  one  who 
loves  him  must  engage  in  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,*  (for  the 
vocation  of  Peter,  in  the  idea  of  Jesus,  was  founded  on  a 
more  special  reason,)  but  he  did  undoubtedly  express  the  idea 
that  no  one  can  become  his  minister  without  love  to  him. 
'^  We  ought,"  said  a  pastor,  quoted  by  Burk,  "  to  subject  all 
aspirants  to  the  ministry  to  the  same  examination  as  that  to 
which  Peter  was  subjected,  and  ask  of  each,  Simon,  son  of 
Jonas,  lovest  thou  the  Lord  Jesus  ?""|'  Certainly  this,  added 
to  the  confession  of  faith,  would  not  be  too  much.  Love  to 
Jesus  Christ  supposes  several  things.  It  supposes  a  connec- 
tion with,  an  intimate  union  to  him.  He  who  has  no  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  Jesus  Christ,  who  only  knows  him  as 
the  Saviour  of  men,  and  not  ;is  his  Saviour,  as  the  teacher 
of  men,  and  not  as  his  teacher,  he  does  not  sufficiently  know 
him — he  has  not  all  the  materials  that  are  needed  for  enter- 
ing upon  such  a  career.  Faith  must  reach  some  degree  of 
elevation  before  it  can  become  sight,  and  without  sight  a  min- 
ister cannot  speak  experimentally.  This  personal  knowledge 
is  an  indispensable  qualification  for  the  ministry,  and  a  means 
by  which  it  alone  can  be  usefully  undertaken. 

In  reducing  the  idea  of  conversion  to  this  simple  and  prac- 
tical test,  a  love  to  Jesus  Christ,  we  can  perfectly  subscribe 
to  the  maxim  that  conversion  is  necessary  in  order  to  preach 

*  Sermon  on  Consecration,  by  Dean  Curtat. 
f  Burk's  Fastoralthcoloffir,  vol.  i.,  p.  56. 


118  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

tlie  gospel  and  exercise  tlie  ministry;  and  we  can  readily  join 
with  the  authorities  cited  in  Herrnhut's  Practical  Observa- 
tions,* and  say :  ''Although  the  gospel  is,  in  itself,  and  apart 
from  those  who  are  the  appointed  channels  through  which  it 
is  conveyed  to  souls,  a  power  of  God  unto  salvation  for  those 
who  believe,  and  may  consequently  exercise  this  salutary  in- 
fluence by  means  of  the  writings  and  discourses  of  men  who 
have  not  themselves  experienced  this  power,  yet  it  is  not  to 
be  denied  that  a  forcible  and  animated  exposition  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  still  more  the  application  of  this  gospel  to  the  neces- 
sities and  the  position  of  individual  souls,  which  is  the  cure 
of  souls  properly  so  called,  can  only  be  intrusted  with  con- 
fidence to  a  man  who  has  himself  tested  the  power  of  the 
gospel,  and  who  continues  to  experience  its  power.  This  ex- 
perience is  then  an  indispensable  condition,  to  be  required 
of  every  true  preacher  of  the  gospel.  He  can  only  show  to 
others  the  way  of  salvation  when  he  can  himself,  in  all  truth- 
fulness, declare :  "  I  believed,  therefore  have  I  spoken." 
Psalm  cxvi.  10. 

So,  then,  conversion,  or,  if  the  expression  is  preferred,  a 
love  to  Jesus  Christ,  is,  on  two  accounts,  to  be  required 
among  the  elements  constituting  a  ministerial  vocation :  in 
the  first  place,  as  a  seal  which  alone  can  authorize  a  minister; 
in  the  second  place,  as  a  means  of  usefully  exercising  his 
ministry,  or  as  a  condition,  without  which  he  does  not  know 
how  to  exercise  it  usefully. 

This  desire,  however,  which  we  have  afl&rmed  to  be  one's 
most  prominent  sign  of  a  vocation,  the  purity  of  which  we 
have  also  affirmed  to  be  an  indispensable  condition — this  de- 
sire will  not  suffice  without  a  special  aptitude ;  and  if  one 
mode,  and  the  gravest  mode,  of  "  stealing  the  words"  of  the 
Lord  (Jer.  xxiii.  30)  is  to  take  those  words  into  the  mouth 

*  Praktische  Bcmcrkungen,  p.  15. 


INTRODUCTION.  119 

without  sincerity  and  love,  another  mode,  we  believe,  of 
"  stealing"  those  words,  is  to  enter  upon  the  ministry  with- 
out possessing,  in  a  certain  degree,  sonic  special  aptitudes. 

There  are  physical  aptitudes,  such  as  voice  and  health. 
This  second  point  may  involve  delicate  considerations,  and 
give  rise  to  questions  which  can  rather  be  resolved  in  casit 
than  in  specie.  The  question  is  not  whether,  with  so  infirm 
a  state  of  health  as  to  be  unable  to  sustain  the  fatigues  of 
the  ministry,  it  is  permissible  to  refuse  a  burden  which,  it  is 
felt,  would  be  overwhelming.  This  is  evident,  that  even 
when  a  man  exaggerates  the  feebleness  of  his  constitution, 
he  may  be  permitted  to  withdraw ;  for  this  exaggeration 
would  tend  to  destroy  any  desire  for  the  ministry,  and  where 
desire  is  absent,  there  is  no  vocation.  We  could  not  suppress 
this  indication,  or  this  limit,  without  transferring  the  obliga- 
tion of  the  ministry  to  all  Christians,  and  thereby  effacing 
the  institution  of  a  special  ministry  altogether,  llather  is 
the  question  whether,  in  a  well-established  condition  of 
health,  it  is  allowable  to  yield  to  the  desire,  and  to  accept  a 
ministry  which  will,  in  a  short  time,  prove  fatal  to  life.  In 
general  cases,  I  would  apply  to  the  minister  what  has  been 
said  to  the  poet :  Sumite  materiam  vestris,  qui  pascitis, 
aquam  viribus*  Be  useful  in  a  somewhat  different  sphere, 
and  simply  as  Christians,  as  long  and  as  completely  as  you 
can,  instead  of  [undertaking  a  course  of  action  which  will 
be  continually  fettered  by  your  own  feebleness.]     But  I  ad- 

*  Horace  advises  writers  to  "choose  a  subject  level  to  their  capa- 
city."    (Ars  Poetica,  v.  38.) 

Sutniie  materiam  vestris,  qui  scribitU,  sequam 
.   Viribus.  .  .  . 

The  chiinge  of  one  word  enables  M.  Vinet  to  avail  himself  of  this 
verse  to  counsel  those  who  desire  to  feed  souls  to  examine  whether 
they  arc  fitted  for  it. — Ed. 


120  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

mit  that  this  rule  may  be  modified  by  circumstances,  which 
must  always  be  carefully  takea  into  consideration.  There 
are  times  and  places  in  which  such  a  sacrifice,  although  it 
can  never  be  commanded,  may  be  approved  and  admired. 
Although  I  do  not  believe  in  works  of  supererogation — that 
is,  I  do  not  think  we  can  do  too  much,  or  set  a  limit  to  the 
requirements  which  God  may  make  upon  us — yet  I  believe 
that  there  can  be  not  only  a  difference  between  faithfulness 
and  unfaithfulness,  but  degrees  in  fidelity,  and  that,  of  two 
sincere  Christians,  one  may  have  more  or  less  zeal  or  love 
than  the  other.  It  may  be  wise  to  be  rash  ;  and  imprudence, 
that  is  to  say,  what  men  call  imprudence,  is  very  often  the 
truest  prudence.  And,  lastly,  circumstances  may  create  duties 
which  under  different  circumstances  would  not  have  existed. 
Intellectual  aptitudes  comprise  either  native  talents  or  ac- 
quired knowledge.  This  is  not  the  time  to  specify  how  much 
these  latter  may  embrace,  and  how  f:\r  they  ought  to  be  ex- 
tended. There  is,  moreover,  more  than  one  kind  of  minis- 
try ;  it  is  not  always  exercised  under  the  same  circumstances, 
and  although  learning  and  ability  can  never  be  superfluous, 
a  very  useful  ministry  can,  under  given  conditions,  be  exer- 
cised without  the  aid  of  extensive  knowledge.  However,  a 
certain  amount  of  learning  and  certain  talents  are  necessary — 
necessary  in  a  more  elevated  degree,  perhaps,  than  can  be 
afiirmed  concerning  science,  properly  so  called.  Absolutely 
speaking,  zeal  without  science  (without  any  science — without 
a  just  and  educated  sense)  creates  only  phantoms,  and  leads 
only  to  fanaticism.  "Add  to  your  faith  science,"  2  Pet.  i.  5 — 
science,  and  not  mere  talent;  for  talent  without  science 
nourishes  presumption  and  temerity ;  we  only  recognize  ob- 
stacles after  we  have  come  into  collision  with  them.  The 
first  good  result  of  scientific  knowledge  is  to  make  us  ac- 
quainted with  our  own  ignorance — to  render  our  darkness 
visible.     [Generally  speaking,  the  minister  ought  to  have  all 


INTRODUCTION.  121 

the  science  necessary  to  enable  him  to  defend  the  cause  of 
religion  against  its  adversaries — to  edify,  to  instruct,  and  to 
render  his  tcacliings  as  useful  as  possible.  It  has  always 
been  desirable  that  the  minister  should  bo  solidly  instructed ; 
that  he  should  be  conversant  with  religion  as  doctrine ;  that 
he  should  have  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  world  and  of 
man.  The  idea  that  pastors  need  not  know  very  much  is  a 
very  unfortunate  misconception.  Their  knowledge  ought  at 
least  to  be  such  as  to  place  them  on  a  level  with  whatever 
may  be  presented  before  them.  But  it  is  necessary  to  guard 
against  a  frivolous  science,  acquired  with  a  reference  to  it- 
self alone.] 

The  knowledge  which  any  one  can  acquire  is  determined 
by  the  talents  which  he  possesses.  These  are  necessary  both 
as  a  means  of  acquiring  knowledge,  and  as  an  instrument  by 
which  to  apply  this  knowledge  in  the  pulpit  and  in  the  min- 
istry generally.  The  ministry  does  not  presuppose  an  extra- 
ordinary measure  of  taleyts ;  piety  will,  up  to  a  certain  point, 
supply  the  lack  of  them  :  piety  in  itself  is  a  great  talent. 
Neither  more  nor  less  talent  is  required  in  order  to  be  a  good 
minister  than  in  order  to  be  a  good  judge,  a  good  advocate,  a 
good  physician,  etc.  What  is  necessary  must  not  be  rare  • 
that  which  all,  up  to  a  certain  point,  ought  to  be,  several 
ought  also  to  be  in  a  considerable  degree  of  perfection. 

As  the  minister  does  not  in  general  require  very  great 
talents,  he  does  not  need  very  special  talents.  A  man'miiy 
be  excellent  as  a  minister  with  the  very  l^me  talents  which 
would  only  secure  a  moderate  amount  of  success  in  any  other 
career.  Aptitude  for  the  ministry  is  not  an  entirely  peculiar 
and  exceptional  aptitude.  Generally  speaking,  there  are  not 
80  many  of  these  special,  imperious  callings  to  the  ministry, 
of  which  so  much  is  spoken,  as  we  are  apt  to  believe ;  and  it 
is  a  proof  of  the  goodness  of  God  that  there  are  so  few. 

But  if  piety  can  to  a  certain  extent  supply  the  lack  of 


122  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

talent,  talent  cannot  supply  the  lack  of  piety ;  and  the  most 
special  kind  of  talent  (eloquence;  knowledge  of  the  heart, 
facility  in  gaining  access  to  and  governing  minds)  cannot 
constitute -a  vocation.  A  man  may  be  eminently  adapted  to 
act  the  part  of  a  minister,  without  being  called  to  be  one. 
[Nor  can  talent  be  a  substitute  for  culture.  There  is  no 
more  dangerous  confidence  than  that  which  is  inspired  by  a 
consciousness  of  talent.  No  one  can  avoid  decaying  in  power 
unless  his  talents  have  a  basis  that  he  has  himself  acquired. 
Many  distinguished  talents  are  lost,  whilst  moderate  talents 
arrive,  through  application,  at  results  which  might  seem  re- 
served for  genius.]  Talent,  like  labor,  can  only  warrant  a 
relative  and  secondary  confidence.  However  necessary  both 
of  them  may  be,  they  can  never  supply  the  most  essential 
condition.  They  cannot  in  themselves  confer  a  mission. 
[They  are  weapons  which  only  injure  us,  unless  Grod  himself 
has  taught  us  how  to  use  them.]  God  must  speak  to  our 
hearts.  "  He  only  who  created  the  world  can  make  a  min- 
ister of  the  gospel,''  said  Newton.  [This  is  a  true  saying ; 
not  only  because  he  alone  gives  talent  and  knowledge,  but 
especially  because  there  is  something  profounder  which  he 
alone  can  give.]  Neither  the  greatest  talent,  nor  the  greatest 
labor,  nor  the  most  comprehensive  knowledge  may  "  steal" 
this  mission.  There  is  more  than  one  kind  of  simony  :  he  is 
guilty  of  this  crime  who  desires  to  purchase  the  ministry  as 
a  salable  thing,  at  the  price  of  talent  or  labor;  this  price 
may  pay  well  for  any  other  ofl&ce,  any  other  charge ;  it  is  a 
very  bad  payment,  it  is  ''robbery,"  when  given  as  an  equiva- 
lent for  the  ministry;  and  for  such  a  one,  who  has  thus 
usurped  it,  is  prepared  the  anathema  utter-ed  by  Peter : 
"  Thy  talent  perish  with  thee,  because  thou  hast  thought 
that  the  gift  of  God  may  be  purchased  with  talent."  Acts 
viii.  20. 

Bishop  Sanderson  observes,  "  It  was  Simon  Magus's  error 


INTRODUCTION.  128 

to  think  that  the  gift  of  God  might  be  purchased  with 
money;  and  it  lias  a  spice  of  his  sin,  and  so  may  go  ibr  a 
kind  of  simony,  to  think  that  spiritual  gifts  may  be  pur- 
chased with  labor.  You  may  rise  up  early,  and  go  to  bed 
late,  and  study  hard,  and  read  much,  and  devour  the  marrow 
of  the  best  authors;  and,  when  you  have  done  all,  unless 
God  give  a  blessing  to  your  endeavors,  be  as  lean  and  meagre, 
in  regard  of  true  and  useful  learning,  as  Pharaoh's  lean  kine 
were,  after  they  had  eaten  the  fat  ones.  It  is  God  that  both 
ministereth  the  seed  to  the  sower,  and  multiplieth  the  seed 
sown  ;   the  principal  and  the  increase  are  both  his."* 

All  this  that  we  have  just  said  is  only  by  way  of  reserve, 
that  too  much  may  not  be  attributed  to  talent :  it  is  by  no 
moans  intended  to  depreciate  its  real  worth.  There  is  a  cer- 
tain measure  and  kind  of  talent,  the  absence  of  which  is  but 
little  compatible  with  the  exercise  of  the  ministry,  and  might 
even  be,  for  the  feeble,  an  occasion  of  oifenee.  When  there 
is  an  absolute  deficiency  of  memory,  or  of  power  of  utter- 
ance, or  of  presence  of  mind,  a  man  is  not  only  not  wanted, 
but  he  is  not  authorized  to  enter  upon  the  ministry ;  ho  can- 
not in  a  becoming  and  edifying  way  perform  the  ordinary 
duties  of  such  a  position. 

Sometimes  the  measure  and  kind  of  talent  which  a  man 
has  received  from  God,  would  suffice  for  some  other  profes- 
sion where  he  could,  with  much  zeal,  labor  for  the  glory  of 
God.  Why  should  he  who  has  talents  for  a  schoolmaster, 
have  an  unconquerable  predilection  for  the  ministry  ?  It  is 
a  grievous  error  to  suppose  that  one  manner  of  serving  God 
will  please  him  less  than  some  other  to  which  we  are  un- 
suited  ;  and  the  idea  of  being  devoted  more  directly,  as  it  is 

*  Quoted  in  Bridges'  Christian  Ministry,  pp.  39,  40;  note. 

[This  is  quoted — though  not  verbatim — from  Sanderson's  masterly 
discourse  ad  clcrum  on  1  Cor.  xii.  7,  which  every  one  looking  to  the 
ministry  would  do  well  to  peruse. — T.  0.  S.] 


124  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

called,  to  the  advancement  of  his  kingdom,  appears  to  me  to 
have  already  done  more  than  enough  mischief.  Our  views 
of  the  universal  ministry,  of  the  vocation  of  all  to  perform, 
in  their  respective  positions,  ministerial  functions,  may  offer 
a  sufficient  compensation  and  encouragement  to  those  whose 
feeble  talents  disqualify  them  for  the  ministry  as  a  special 
office.  In  one  class  and  at  one  period  especially  is  this  illu- 
sion to  be  feared :  I  mean  that  class  of  men  who  have  re- 
ceived no  early  education — and  the  period  of  a  considerable 
religious  revival.  These  occasions  bring  into  especial  promi- 
nence the  care  of  souls,  and  the  class  referred  to  know  only 
of  preaching  as  the  means  of  promoting  it ;  the  task  belongs 
to  all,  and  therefore  preaching  is  also  the  duty  of  all. 

We  might  reckon  character  among  the  aptitudes  which 
are  not  to  be  regarded  as  either  effaced  or  neutralized  by 
principles,  nor  even  by  a  religious  revolution,  [although,  to  a 
certain  extent,  it  yields  to  the  influence  of  Christianity.] 
Character  is,  in  many  respects,  so  related  to  temperament, 
that  it  will  not  alter  any  more  than  the  temperament  itself, 
under  the  influence  of  principles  and  convictions.  Timidity, 
irresolution,  pliancy  of  character,  may  remain  after  conversion, 
and  remain  to  such  a  degree  that  the  ministry  is  shackled  by 
them,  and  suffers  exactly  where  it  ought  to  be  protected. 
This  must  be  well  considered. 

It  has  been  asked  whether  past  sins  do  not  cancel  a  voca- 
tion which  is  otherwise  established  as  completely  as  possible. 
[The  question  does  not  refer  to  all  kinds  of  sin  :  no  one,  in 
that  case,  would  be  worthy  of  the  priesthood.  It  refers  to 
grave  sins  of  a  spiritual  and  material  character;  startling 
blemishes  in  conduct;  those  faults  which,  when  known, 
compromise  our  character  in  the  eyes  of  the  world ;  which 
are  not  only  sins,  but,  even  in  the  view  of  the  natural  man, 
s;rave  faults.     Have  we  committed  these  faults  either  with  or 


INTRODUCTION.  125 

without  the  knowledge  of  those  whom  we  rule,  and  must 
they  destroy  a  vocation  which  is  in  other  respects  unimpeach- 
able? 

[It  is  interesting  to  know  the  manner  in  which  Catholics 
have  thought  on  this  point :  Catholicism,  which  paralyzes 
truths  by  depriving  them  of  their  healthy,  living  fluidity, 
yet  by  the  same  means  assures  to  them  a  durable  existence. 
This  petrifiiction  preserves  the  form  of  the  object  during  cen- 
turies. This  is  the  benefit,  albeit  dearly  purchased,  of  Ca- 
tholicism. In  a  I'eligion  in  which  the  external  form  has  not 
been  so  immovable,  there  is  a  certain  advantage,  but  attended 
with  danger.  There  may  be  cases  in  which  the  change  of 
form  indicates  a  more  fundamental  change — in  which  the 
truth  has  departed  with  the  form.  There  is  then  some  in- 
terest in  studying  the  teachings  of  Catholicism  on  this  point.] 

Certain  Catholic  doctors  (perhaps  Catholicism  itself)  have 
settled  the  question  by  an  exaggeration.  Massillon  [excludes 
from  the  ministry  those  who  have  at  any  time  so  given  them- 
selves up  to  a  sin,  that  it  has  become  a  habit.  He  says,] 
"  jMourn  for  your  crimes  in  the  position  of  an  undistinguished 
disciple ;  that  is  your  place.  Do  not,  by  accepting  a  sacred 
office,  put  a  seal  on  your  iniquities ;  do  not  approach  to  stain 
the  sanctuary;  do  not  add  to  that  holy  place  the  profanation 
which  is  in  your  soul.  You  may  be  subdued,  you  may  re- 
turn to  God  and  supplicate  his  mercy,  and  save  yourself 
among  the  penitent  believers;  you  will  die  hardened  and 
impenitent  in  the  priesthood.  It  may  be  that  there  have 
been  occasional  exceptions  to  this  rule  :  .  .  .  that  a  great 
sinner,  who  has  been  for  a  long  time  purified  by  a  life  of  sell- 
denial,  .  .  .  may  become  a  holy  priest;  .  .  .  but,  when 
any  exception  to  the  rule  is  allowed,  the  utility  of  such  an 
infraction  must  fully  compensate  for  its  inconveniences. 
Now  it  is  for  you  to  tell  us  what  great  advantages  the  Church 
might  anticipate  for  itself  by  your  promotion  to  the  priest- 


126  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

hood.  All  that  I,  for  my  part,  can  say,  is,  that  if  you  still 
remain  in  the  faith,  it  ought  to  appear  to  you  a  terrible  thing 
to  enter  upon  a  condition  of  which  the  general  rule  declares 
you  to  be  unworthy,  and  that  you  must  avail  yourself  of  a 
unique  exception,  of  a  rare  and  singular  case,  of  one  of  those 
prodigies,  an  example  of  which  is  hardly  to  be  met  with  once 
in  a  century,  in  order  that  you  may  exculpate  yourself  from 
the  charge  of  being  a  profane  intruder."* 

This  rigor  might  seem  to  be  contradictory  to  other  Catholic 
views,  which  tend  to  make  the  personality  of  the  pastor  a  too 
insignificant  element.  But  there  is  no  contradiction ;  there 
is  a  true  agreement.  The  priest,  as  a  neutral  being,  from 
whom  mind  and  spirit  have  vanished,  ought,  nevertheless, 
as  a  victim  brought  to  the  altar,  to  oiFer  no  exterior  blemish ; 
and  it  is  of  these  outward  stains  that  Massillon  is  speaking 
in  the  passage  which  I  have  quoted.  [However,  in  the  case 
which  he  supposes,  when  the  duration  of  the  disorder  has 
effaced  all  sentiments  of  shame  and  virtue,  when  a  habit  of 
crime  has  given  to  the  soul  a  distaste  for  heavenly  things,  it 
is  very  evident  that  the  individual  ought  to  be  excluded  from 
the  ministry;  for  he  cannot  have  avocation.  But  this  is  not 
the  case  to  be  considered  :  it  is  whether,  with  a  true  vocation, 
the  recollection  of  grave  faults  ought  to  exclude  a  man  from 
the  ministry.  Once  more,  it  is  not  a  question  of  sin  in  gen- 
eral, but  of  large  and  deep  stains — offences  against  honor 
and  moi'als.] 

I  should  respect  the  conscientiousness,  and,  in  certain  cases, 
approve  the  motives  of  the  man  in  whom  the  recollection  of 
past  sins  should  induce  him  to  stand  aloof  from  the  ministry, 
whether  these  painful  recollections  belonged  to  him  alone,  or 
were  shared  with  him  by  others. 

If  others  besides  the  individual  are  acquainted  with  these 

*  Massillon,  Discours  stir  la  vocation  H  Vetat  ecclesiastique. 


INTRODUCTION.  127 

faults,  it  is  to  be  feared  lest,  on  the  one  hand,  the  public — I 
mean  the  body  of  his  flock — might  oppose  to  the  exhortations 
and  reproofs  of  the  pastor  the  iniaiic,  which  Avill  be  ever  lively, 
ever  ready  to  revive,  of  his  past  disorders,  even  when  years 
of  virtue  and  devotcdness  have  sealed  his  renunciation  of 
them,  and  obliterated  their  traces  from  his  character;*  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  to  be  feared  lest  the  thought  that 
the  public  knows  of  his  fault  may  intimidate  the  preacher, 
and  prevent  him  from  doing  any  thing  with  that  honest  bold- 
ness, without  which  he  cannot  usefully  exercise  his  ministry. 
]\laRsiIlon  lays  it  down  as  a  principle,  that  no  man  should  im- 
pose himself  on  a  people  who  do  not  accept  him."]"  This  is 
true,  and  so  true,  that  when  the  ecclesiastical  authority 
(which,  however,  is  thought  to  be  delegated  by  the  people) 
shall  have  admitted  the  erring  pastor,  if  yet  the  people  or 
the  public,  because  of  his  known  faults,  do  not  receive  him, 
if  he  should  be  conscious  that  he  is  not  accepted  with  perfect 
freedom,  he  ought  either  to  wait  until  he  is  reinstated  in 
their  esteem,  or  to  seek  for  a  ministry  far  from  the  localities 
where  the  recollection  of  his  fault  surrounds  him  and  stifles 
his  influence.  It  is  easy  to  draw  from  this  a  conclusion  for 
the  young  Levite,  exposed  by  his  very  youth  to  the  risk  of 
not  making  his  youth  sufficiently  respected.  1  Tim.  iv.  12. 
If  this  youth  has  been,  not  scandalous,  but  too  unrestrained, 
not  sufficiently  serious,  this  is  already  an  evil.  It  is  not  only 
necessary  that  the  candidate  should  be  exempt  from  those 
faults  which  society  will  not  pardon,  but  also  that,  from  the 
moment  when  his  life  belongs  to  the  public,  he  should  be 

*  "According  to  the  rule  of  the  Church,  public  pcuitence  is  incom- 
patible with  the  priesthood." — St.  Cyran's  Thoughts  on  the  Priest- 
hood. 

f  Massillon's  Discourse  on  the  Vocation  to  an  Ecclesiastical 
Slate.  "The  approbation  of  the  people  is  the  second  mark  of  a 
canonical  vocation,"  etc. 


128  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

surrounded  by  an  atmospliere  of  sanctity,  of  seriousness,  of 
innocence  in  morals  and  behavior. 

In  the  second  case,  when  there  are  none  acquainted  with 
his  guilt  but  the  individual  himself,  if  the  remembrance  of 
his  sins  pursues  the  minister  into  the  pulpit,  and  perhaps 
burdens  him  still  more  because  he  has  not  made  reparation 
for  them  by  a  public  avowal,  this  may  cause  extreme  uneasi- 
ness and  trouble.  It  is  not  found  that  God  will,  in  all  cases^ 
while  taking  away  the  blame  of  a  sin,  also  relieve  the  offender 
from  the  burdensome  recollections  which  that  sin  has  occa- 
sioned ;  perhaps  he  allows  this  hard  discipline  to  remain  with 
some  spirits,  which  need  thus  to  be  kept  to  the  end  of  their 
course  humble  and  self-distrustful.  Perhaps  such  a  man 
will  feel  that  it  is  not  for  him,  stained  as  he  is,  to  exercise  a 
ministry  of  which  even  the  angels  are  not  worthy ;  perhaps 
his  respect  for  the  ministry  will  dissuade  him  from  joining  it; 
and  if  this  should  be  the  case,  I  would  not  dare  to  resist  such 
scruples,  I  would  not  dare  persuade  him  to  stifle  them,  unless 
I  see  in  them  a  germ  of  self-righteousness — unless  I  discover 
beneath  this  feeling  of  the  unworthiness  of  the  individual,  an 
idea  of  the  dignity  of  man  in  general.  This  painful  sacrifice 
may  be  blessed;  and,  according  to  the  principle  in  which  I 
would  wish  to  see  it  carried  out,  I  would  cherish  a  hope  that 
this  man  will  only  renounce  the  ministry  to  exercise  it  under 
another  form,  more  humble  in  mind,  more  undeviating  in  in- 
tegrity ;  that  he  will  evangelize  from  the  foot  of  the  pulpit, 
as  he  would  have  done  from  the  elevation  of  the  pulpit ;  that 
he  will  only  forbid  himself  the  official  priesthood  in  order  to 
exercise  another ;  and  that  he  will  do  by  his  good  example, 
which  is  so  much  the  more  demanded  of  him,  as  he  has  for- 
merly given  a  bad  example,  that  which  he  dares  not  to  do  by 
his  words. 

It  is  difficult,  in  such  eases,  to  interpose  between  a  man 
and  his  conscience.     We  must  leave  these  to  terminate  the 


INTRODUCTION.  129 

debate;  certainly  wc  must  not  enter  into  it  unless  invited; 
we  must  use  great  precaution,  and  force  nothing.  But  if  the 
solution  of  every  separate  case  of  this  kind  is  difficult,  it  is 
not  so  difficult  to  express  the  general  principle  according  to 
•which  they  should  be  resolved,  and  which  each  must  apply 
to  himself,  according  to  his  own  individual  conviction.  The 
general  principle  is  this :  Wc  will  say  to  every  one  so  situ- 
ated. The  question  is  not  what  you  have  been,  but  what  you 
now  are.  If  the  sins  of  your  youth  ought,  absolutely  speak- 
ing, to  exclude  you  from  the  ministry,  no  one  could  enter 
upon  it;  for  all  have  sinned,  all  have  been  "dead,"  (Eph.  ii. 
1,)  and  in  the  idea  of  death  there  is  no  gradation.  If  these 
actions  render  you  unsuited  to  the  ministry,  after  you  have 
abjured  and  repented  of  them,  they  also  render  you  as  un- 
suited for  paradise.  You  cannot  preach  the  pardon  of  God 
without  believing  it,  that  is  to  say,  without  having  received 
and  accepted  it ;  and  if  you  have  accepted  it,  you  are,  on  the 
terms  of  the  gospel,  as  though  you  had  never  sinned.  Be- 
tween you  and  others  "  there  is  no  diflference ;  for  all  have 
sinned  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God."  Bom.  iii.  22, 
23.  You  have,  therefore,  so  far  as  you  believe  in  the 
pardon  of  God,  neither  more  nor  less  right  than  any  other  to 
preach  the  gospel.  He  whose  grace  has  cleansed  you  as  a 
man,  has  he  not,  at  the  same  time,  cleansed  you  as  a  minister? 
We  cannot  misunderstand  these  truths  without  misunder- 
standing with  them  the  first  principles  of  the  gospel,  which 
makes  no  distinction  between  the  workman  of  the  first  and 
the  workman  of  the  eleventh  hour,  between  the  publican  and 
the  rigid  Pharisee,  the  prodigal  and  his  eldest  brother,  that 
is  to  say,  him  who  is  supposed  never  to  have  forsaken  his 
father.  The  act  of  grace  is  a  new  creation,  in  which  former 
things  shall  not  be  remembered.  Isa.  Ixv.  17.  The  new 
man  dates,  with  God,  from  his  regeneration  ;  this,  by  what  it 
is,  effaces  what  he  has  been ;  although,  by  what  it  does,  it 
5 


180  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

cannot  efface  what  lie  has  done.  "  "What  greater  change," 
says  St.  Cyran,  ''  can  happen  to  a  man  than  that  of  becoming, 
instead  of  a  child  of  Adam,  a  child  of  God  ?  We  may  say 
that  it  is  less  change  to  pass  from  nothing  to  the  existence 
of  a  mortal  man,  than  to  pass  from  the  existence  of  a  mortal 
man  to  the  life  of  a  child  of  God."* 


*  St.  Cyran's  Thoughts  on  the  Priesthood. 

[The  general  principle  set  forth  in  this  paragraph  is  correct,  but  it  is 
rather  unguardedly  stated.  In  some  important  respects  regeneration 
does  not  efface  what  a  man  has  been,  and  repentance  is  not  so  avail- 
able as  innocence.  The  passage  cited  from  Isaiah  refers  in  figura- 
tive terms  to  what  shall  take  place  in  the  latter-day  glory  of  the 
Church.  In  a  philosophical  sense  it  is  not  possible,  nor  desirable, 
that  either  God  or  man  should  forget  what  a  Christian  was  before  his 
conversion  —  certainly  he  himself  should  not  forget  it.  There  is  a 
distinction  made  between  the  publican  and  the  Pharisee,  the  prodigal 
and  his  elder  brother,  in  the  parables,  which  penitent  publicans  and 
proud  Pharisees  did  not  fail  to  discover.  So  with  regard  to  the 
parable  of  the  laborers  in  the  vineyard,  which  is  so  generally  mis- 
understood. The  language  at  the  close  of  that  parable.  Matt.  xx.  16, 
"  So  the  first  shall  be  last  and  the  last  shall  be  first,"  refers  back  to 
Matt.  xix.  30,  and  shows  that  the  parable  was  introduced  to  illus- 
trate the  preceding  case.  This  is  a  key  to  the  meaning  of  the  para- 
ble. The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  the  Church ;  the  householder  is 
Christ,  unless,  as  some  think,  he  is  God,  and  the  steward  is  Christ ; 
the  hired  laborers  are  those  employed  in  his  service ;  the  various 
hours  at  which  they  are  hired  are  the  different  times  when  men  are 
called  by  his  providence  and  Spirit  to  labor,  when  doors  of  useful- 
ness are  opened  to  them ;  the  evening  when  they  are  paid  is  the 
close  of  life ;  the  penny  is  the  gracious  reward  for  their  services, 
one  and  the  same  for  all  the  laborers,  as  it  was  not  the  fault  of  the 
last  hired  that  they  had  not  labored  all  day,  which  they  would  have 
done  had  they  been  called  at  the  same  hour  with  the  first :  in  the 
spiritual  application,  the  penny  to  each  suggests  that  there  is  the 
same  heaven,  objectively  considered,  for  all  Christ's  servants,  as 
their  services,  not  having  any  merit  in  them,  are  all  graciously  re- 
warded.    This  is  a  hint  to  Peter,  in  view  of  his  somewhat  self-com- 


INTROBUCTION.  131 

This  is  the  truth  when  regarded  from  an  abstract  and  ab- 
solute point  of  view.  This  is  not  to  say  that  because  the 
mercy  of  God  will  not  take  into  account  our  past  conduct,  wc 

placcnt  language,  (xix.  27,)  "Behold,  wc  have  forsaken  all  and  fol- 
lowed thee:  what  shall  we  have  thei-efore?"  intimating  that  they 
were  entitled  to  a  great  reward,  which  indeed  they  should  receive, 
as  Christ  told  him;  but  he  now  hints  to  him  that  that  reward  will 
not  be  of  debt,  but  of  grace.  Cf.  Rom.  iv.  4.  It  does  not  follow 
from  this  that  there  are  no  distinctions  in  heaven.  "  Some  are,  and 
must  be,  greater  than  the  rest."  There  will  be  one  heaven  for  all, 
but  the  enjoyment  of  it  will  be  according  to  each  man's  qualification 
and  capacity — a  point  with  which  the  parable  has  nothing  to  do.  As 
to  paying  the  last-hired  laborers  first,  that  is  a  part  of  the  machinery 
of  the  parable,  necessary  to  bring  out  the  temper  of  the  others,  which 
would  not  have  been  developed  if  they  had  been  paid  off  first.  The 
murmurers  do  not  represent  any  of  Christ's  servants  who  will  be  re- 
warded in  heaven  ;  but  this  part  of  the  parable  shows  the  hatefulness 
of  such  a  spirit  as  they  displayed,  the  very  same  which  the  disciples 
were  in  danger  of  imbibing,  and  which  the  parable  was  designed  to 
check.  No  murmurer,  says  Gregory,  can  enter  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven, and  no  one  can  murmur  who  enters  there.  As  between  man  and 
man,  indeed,  the  first-hired  laborers  were  entitled  to  their  penny,  and 
received  it,  though  it  may  not  have  done  them  much  good.  But  be- 
tween man  and  God  the  case  is  different:  "every  man  shall  receive 
his  own  reward  according  to  his  own  labor ;"  but  those  who  give  way 
to  a  proud,  grudging,  envious  spirit,  cancel  their  claim  to  any  re- 
ward, and  fail  to  get  it  after  all  their  labor ;  realizing  the  proverb  in 
all  its  fulness  of  import,  "The  last  shall  be  first,  and  the  first  last." 
Hence  it  is  added.  For  mnnj/  be  called,  but  few  chosen — many  are  called 
to  labor  for  Christ,  but  few  obey  the  call,  and  persevere  to  the  end 
in  that  spirit  of  humble  love  which  will  secure  the  final  approval  of 
their  gracious  Employer.  John  seems  to  have  this  in  view  when  ho 
says,  "  Look  to  yourselves,  that  we  lose  not  those  things  which  we 
have  wrought,  but  that  wc  receive  a  full  reward."  2  John  8;  cf. 
Ezek.  xxxiii.  12,  13  :  2  Esdras  viii.  3.  The  hint  thus  originally  de- 
signed for  Peter  and  the  other  apostles  may  be  of  service  to  all  who 
arc  called  to  labor  in  the  vineyard  of  Christ:  none  can  consistently 
plume  themselves  on  their  supei-iority  to  any  others,  as  it  is  a  "grace 


132  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

therefore  ought  not  to  take  any  further  notice  of  it,  either  as 
to  those  who  have  sinned,  or  as  those  who  may  have  to  decide 
upon  their  calling  to  the  ofl&ce  of  the  ministry.     Repentance 

given"  them  to  be  tlius  employed,  as  well  as  to  be  rewarded  for  their 
services.  Cf.  1  Cor.  iv.  6,  7.  Some  apply  the  parable  to  the  election 
of  the  twelve  rather  than  the  scribes  and  priests  to  be  apostles ;  or 
the  advancement  of  publicans  and  sinners,  being  penitent,  to  equal 
privileges  in  the  Church  with  the  respectable  and  virtuous  among  the 
Jews  ;  or  to  the  calling  of  the  Jews  first  and  then  the  Gentiles  into  a 
visible  Church  state,  the  latter  being  granted  the  same  prerogatives 
as  the  former.  Admitting  that  it  may  be  thus  applied,  these  inter- 
pretations do  not  well  suit  the  connection.  Others,  with  Origen  and 
Hilary,  interpret  the  five  calls  of  the  Adamic,  Noahic,  Abrahamic, 
Mosaic,  and  Christian  dispensations ;  or  of  the  successive  calls  to  the 
Jews  in  the  times  of  Moses,  David,  the  Maccabees,  Christ,  and  the 
apostles.  Cf.  John  iv.  35-38.  But  this  is  fanciful  and  does  not  suit 
the  connection.  So  of  the  application  to  the  mission  of  the  Baptist, 
of  the  twelve  and  seventy,  Luke  ix.,  x.,  of  the  apostles  at  Pentecost, 
to  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion,  and  to  the  Gentiles.  Others  apply  it 
to  the  diflFerent  periods  at  which  men  enter  the  service  of  Christ ;  as 
if  it  were  designed  to  show  the  equality  of  rewards  in  heaven.  But 
this  does  not  suit  the  connection,  and  is  liable  to  serious  abuse ;  for 
on  this  ground  some  advance  the  absurd  and  impious  idea  that  there 
is  a  specific  time  in  a  man's  life  when  he  is  called  into  the  vineyard 
— "  God's  good  time" — so  that  he  is  not  held  responsible  for  postpon- 
ing repentance  to  the  eleventh  hour,  if  he  should  not  repent  till  then; 
and  a  death-bed  repentance  will  secure  as  bright  a  crown  as  a  whole 
life  of  service  and  sufi'ering  in  the  cause  of  Christ !  The  heathen,  it 
is  true,  will  not  be  held  responsible  for  not  entering  the  vineyard  be- 
fore they  were  called,  as  they  can  say  with  truth,  "  No  man  hath 
hired  us  ;"  and  however  late  in  life  a  heathen  may  receive  the  call,  it 
would  be  chui'lish  in  those  who  were  "  in  Christ  before"  him  to  mur- 
mur at  his  being  allowed  to  work  during  the  short  remainder  of  his 
life,  and  to  enter  heaven  at  its  close,  as  he  gives  evidence  that  he 
would  have  begun  to  work  before  if  he  had  been  hired.  But  what 
has  this  to  do  with  the  figment  of  "effectual  calling,"  or  with  the 
case  of  one  who,  after  resisting  a  thousand  gracious  calls,  the  very 
first  of  which  would  have  been  effectual  but  for  his  own  fault,  finally 


INTRODUCTION.  133 

ought  to  have  separated  our  former  life  from  our  new  one, 
but  this  is  not  enough  :  a  test  is  demanded — a  test  of  such  a 
duration  as  sufficiently  to  assure  others  and  ourselves  that  the 
poisonous  germ  is  dead,  and  that  we  are  no  longer  the  same 
men  that  we  and  they  remember  as  having  sinned,  and  given 

yields  to  the  importunity  of  grace  and  performs  a  modicum  of  service 
iu  the  vineyard  ?  Such  a  man  may  indeed  get  to  the  same  heavea 
with  others,  but,  as  Augustin  says,  though  the  heaven  will  be  in 
common,  the  splendor  will  be  different,  as  one  star  differeth  from  an- 
other star  in  glory.  Chrysostom,  Olshausen,  and  others  assume  that 
the  last-hired  laborers  did  more  in  their  hour  than  the  first  did  iu 
their  day.  This  idea  is  involved  in  the  travesty  of  the  Talmud :  "  To 
what  was  Rabbi  Bon  Bar  Chaija  like?  To  a  king  who  hired  many 
laborers,  among  whom  there  was  one  hired  who  performed  his  task 
extraordinarily  well.  What  did  the  king?  He  took  him  aside  and 
walked  with  him  to  and  fro.  When  even  was  come,  those  laborers 
came  that  they  might  receive  their  hire,  and  he  gave  him  a  complete 
hire  with  the  rest.  And  the  laborers  murmured,  saying,  '  We  have 
labored  hard  all  the  day,  and  this  man  only  two  hours,  yet  he  hath 
received  as  much  wages  as  we.'  The  king  saith  to  them,  'He  hath 
labored  more  in  those  two  hours  than  you  in  the  whole  day.'  So  R. 
Bon  plied  the  law  more  in  twenty-eight  years  than  another  in  one 
hundred."  But  the  notion  that  the  last-hired  laborers  did  more  than 
the  first  is  gratuitous,  and  does  not  illustrate  the  point  in  hand,  which 
is  to  show,  that  after  doing  the  most  service,  men  may  make  them- 
selves less  acceptable  to  God  than  those  who  have  done  the  least.  It 
will  not  do,  however,  to  understand  by  the  language,  "Take  that 
thine  is,"  "Receive  the  punishment  of  thy  pride  and  discontent." 
If  the  rewards  of  heaven  were  in  all  respects  like  the  wages  of  a 
hireling,  then  this  part  of  the  parable  might  find  its  analogy  in  the 
future  state,  and  murmurers  might  be  found  in  heaven ;  but  as  this 
cannot  be,  it  is  obviously  designed  to  admonish  the  disciples  not  to 
chcrisii  a  self-complacent,  grudging  spirit,  which  would  bring  upon 
them  the  displeasure  of  their  Mai^ter,  and  render  them  incapable  of 
the  heavenly  reward.  In  future  retribution,  to  "be  last"  is  equiva- 
lent to  be  not  "  chosen" — there  is  a  heaven  for  all,  but  few  are  found 
qualified  for  ita  enjoyment.     See  Matt.  xxii.  14. — T.  0.  S.] 


134  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

occasion  for  offence.  On  this  condition  ancient  sins  may  be, 
objectively,  an  obstacle  to  our  entrance  into  the  holy  tribe; 
and  it  may  even  be  that  those  sins  which  we  deplore,  and  be- 
cause we  deplore  them,  will  impart  a  prudence,  a  seriousness, 
a  force,  and  a  tenderness  to  our  nature,  which  do  not  always 
belong  to  lives  which  have  been  passed  in  relative  innocence. 
The  thoughts  of  St.  Cyran  on  this  point  are  worthy  of  our 
attention  :  "  I  should  not  fear,"  he  says,  "  on  certain  pressing 
occasions,  to  introduce  into  the  priesthood  a  man  who  has 
been  truly  penitent  for  his  sins,  (of  a  known  and  public  char- 
acter,) although  of  a  carnal  nature,  and  in  direct  opposition 
to  the  decalogue,  if  I  find  two  qualities  in  him.  The  one  is 
firmness  of  mind,  which  is  more  than  good  sense,  and  may, 
by  the  aid  of  Divine  grace,  be  of  great  service  to  him,  ena- 
bling him  to  resist  evil  tendencies  which  remain,  and  even 
those  temptations  which  may  arise  in  the  duties  of  the  priest- 
hood. The  other  is  an  entire  exemption  from  cupidity,  as 
well  with  regard  to  wealth  as  to  honors  and  praises.  For  it 
is  often  the  case  that  a  man  has  lost  innocence  by  only  one 
single  species  of  mental  sin,  produced  by  a  strong  inclination, 
and  promoted  by  the  ardent  passions  of  his  age ;  and  that  one, 
perhaps  transitory,  occasion  has  prevailed  over  a  nature  good 
in  other  respects,  and  endowed  in  body  and  soul  with  many 
natural  and  acquired  good  qualities,  as  well  as  with  many 
which  have  been  given  to  him  by  Divine  grace.  This  will 
sometimes  suffice  to  remove  all  fear  which  we  might  feel  in 
making  such  a  man  a  priest,  when  he  has  approved  himself 
truly  penitent,  and  passed  some  years  without  falling  again, 
and  in  laboring  unceasingly  to  cure  his  sinful  habits.  This 
test  will  be  still  more  decisive,  if,  while  living  in  a  town,  he 
lias  retired  from  intercourse  with  those  men  even  whom  he 
can  but  little  avoid,  as,  for  instance,  some  of  his  relations, 
and  friends,  and  other  persons  who  can  with  difficulty  be 
avoided  in  the  midst  of  towns.     There  are  men  who  have 


1  NTllODUCTlON.  135 

fallen  from  innocence,  who  have  more  strength  and  firmness  in 
their  soul  than  many  of  those  who  have  always  preserved  it.* 

Can  doubts  cancel  a  vocation  ? 

We  answer,  First :  there  can  be  few  legitimate  vocations 
if  doubt  is  to  cancel  them.  Secondly :  on  the  same  supposi- 
tion there  can  be  but  few  Christians  even ;  [for,  although  we 
may  arrive  at  a  condition  full  of  light,  only  those  entirely 
wanting  in  religious  life  have  never  doubted.]  Thirdly:  the 
study,  the  life,  and  the  employments  of  a  minister  raise  new 
doubts. 

The  question  for  us  is,  whether  we  believe  ;  whether  Chris- 
tianity is  for  us  a  reality ;  whether  we  are  able  to  give  to  our- 
selves and  to  others  an  account  of  our  faith  ;  and  whether  wo 
have  that  experience  of  the  truth,  that  spiritual  certitude, 
which,  without  resolving  all  doubts,  is  superior  to  them. 

But,  it  is  objected,  may  a  man  who  is  sent  to  assist  doubters 
be  a  doubter  himself?  No,  we  say,  not  absolutely.  Accord- 
ingly the  question  does  not  concern  an  incredulous  or  skepti- 
cal minister,  but  a  man  who  is  not  clear  on  some  points,  and 
must  sometimes  acknowledge  that  he  is  not. 

Can  certain  inclinations  cancel  a  vocation  ? 

The  inclinations  which  we  have  in  view  arc  like  the  doubts 
of  the  soul,  [and  the  difiiculty  may  be  resolved  by  the  same 
principles.] 

We  do  not  speak  of  certain  tastes,  innocent  in  themselves, 
but  which  cannot  be  gratified  by  the  individual  so  long  as  he 
is  a  pastor.     They  destroy  the  vocation,  if  the  vocation  does 


*  St.  Cyran's  Letter  to  M.  Guillebert  on  the  Priesthood,  chap, 
xvii.  God  himself  has  chosen  as  his  ministers  men  who  liave  griev- 
ously sinned,  and  several  eminently  holy  bishops  and  pnstors  men- 
tioned in  ecclesiastical  history  had  been  worse  than  dissipated  men. 
— (Augustin,  Ranc(;.) 


136  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

not  destroy  them.  We  refer  to  evil  inclinations.  But  if 
they  are  evil,  they  are  as  incompatible  with  the  profession 
of  Christianity  as  with  the  work  of  the  ministry.  However, 
as  a  minister,  in  abandoning  himself  to  them,  would  be  more 
guilty  and  would  do  more  harm  than  one  who  is  simply  a 
Christian,  the  question  may  be  considered,  whether  it  will  be 
necessary  that  he  should  begin  to  surmount  them  as  a  man. 
Will  he  say  that  he  could  do  this  still  better  as  a  minister  ? 
This  would  be  to  practice  a  formidable  and  dangerous  part — 
to  determine  either  to  forsake  or  to  double  the  sin.  If  the 
church  is  a  hospital,  ministers  are  not  the  patients,  but  the 
physicians.  [They  ought  to  enter  there  in  sound  health. 
Doubtless  they  may  do  good  to  themselves  in  such  a  position, 
but  there  is  something  repulsive  in  the  calculation.  There 
is  a  danger  lest  the  ministry  should  be  stained  instead  of 
purified.] 

I  believe  that  one  important  preparation  for  the  ministry 
is  askesis,*  or  spiritual  exercise.  [I  do  not  by  this  mean  the 
arbitrary  spiritual  exercises  of  certain  Christians  and  certain 
sectaries.  It  is  a  system  of  moral  life  resting  on  a  Christian 
principle,  but  carried  on  under  the  impression  and  anticipa- 
tion of  the  ministry  which  is  afterwards  to  be  entered  upon. 
Let  us  imagine  ourselves  in  the  most  difficult  position,  and 
live  as  if  we  were  there.  There  will  be,  however,  many  dif- 
ferences. What  would  be  privation  for  one  will  not  be  such 
for  another;  we  cannot  therefore  enter  into  details.  The 
object  is  to  gain  self-mastery  by  the  assistance  of  the  grace 
of  Grod ;  this  is  the  essential  point.] 

It  is  very  clear  that,  for  all  these  questions,  we  are,  in  the 
first  place  and  most  definitely,  referred  to  ourselves.     And,  in 

*  "kaKijaig. — M.  Vinet  here  borrows  a  Tvord  which  the  Germans 
had  introduced  before  him  [Chrisiliche  Askese)  into  th3ological  lan- 
guage. He  borrows  askesis  from  the  Greek ;  the  same  word  is  seen 
in  ascetic,  asceticism. — Ed. 


INTRODUCTION.  137 

fact,  as  no  man  and  no  body  of  men  can  know  with  complete 
certainty  whether  wc  are  called,  so  they  cannot  in  all  cases 
declare  with  like  certainty  that  we  arc  not  called.  In  fine, 
there  are  times  and  places  in  which  a  man  can  be  sent  by  no 
other  than  himself,  and  when  those  whose  spiritual  needs 
cause  the  want  are  the  last  to  call  him.  Such  is  the  case 
when  a  man  raises  his  voice  to  protest  against  a  prevalent 
error.  The  pastoral  order  is  always  ready  to  recommence, 
and  the  church  at  certain  times  is  born  of  the  pastor,  as  in 
ordinary  times  the  pastor  is  born  of  the  church.  But,  in 
general,  an  external  vocation,  which  is  not  necessary  to  con- 
fer a  right,  is  necessary  in  fact : 

1.  To  the  minister  himself,  who,  though  he  alone  is  quali- 
fied to  judge  his  own  intentions,  is  not  the  sole  judge  of  the 
rest,  and  needs  for  himself  a  testimony  from  without,  to  pro- 
nounce on  his  tact,  talent,  knowledge.  [It  is  very  true  that 
even  when  wc  are  called  by  a  Church,  wc  may  ourselves  be- 
lieve that  we  are  not  called.  But  if  no  Church  calls  us, 
when  we  believe  ourselves  to  be  called  of  God,  there  is  reason 
to  doubt  the  reality  of  our  vocation.  It  is  the  duty  of  every 
man,  however  vehemently  he  may  feel  himself  impelled  to 
the  ministry,  to  suspend  his  certainty  of  his  vocation  when 
he  finds  himself  repulsed.  At  least,  some  delay  is  necessary 
before  refusing  the  scientific  and  ecclesiastical  authority  which 
refuses  us.]  We  are  not  very  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
task  before  us,  and  we  ought,  up  to  a  certain  point,  to  refer 
ourselves  to  a  testimony — which  may,  in  this  case,  be  called 
an  authority — as  to  its  nature,  its  extent,  its  difficulties,  its 
true  characteristics.  Those  who  know  the  task  have  a  means 
which  wc  do  not  possess  of  ascertaining  whether  we  are 
adapted  to  it. 

2.  To  the  people,  an  external  vocation  is  necessary.  Un- 
less, through  particular  circumstances,  the  people  arc  able 
and  have  been  put  in  a  position  to  judge  of  the  capacity  and 


138  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

worthiness  of  the  minister  who  presents  himself,  it  will 
always  demand,  Whence  comest  thou  ?  Art  thou  he  that 
should  come  ?  Wherever  there  is  a  Church,  it  will  endeavor 
to  establish  some  pattern,  according  to  which  those  shall  be 
judged  who  aspire  to  the  pastoral  oflBce,  and  an  institution 
to  train  and  select  such.  This,  indeed,  guarantees  only  moral 
certainty,  but  it  is  the  only  kind  that  is  possible ;  and  has 
the  Romish  Church,  which  assumes  the  possession  of  other 
guarantees,  has  it  in  essential  matters  any  other  ? 

For  the  minister  an  external  vocation,  so  far  as  it  affects 
the  proof  in  his  own  mind  of  the  reality  of  his  vocation,  is 
equivalent  to  a  consultation.  But  this  consultation  is,  and 
always  will  be,  inadequate  and  unsatisfactory  compared  with 
such  a  conference  as  he  can  have,  not  with  a  body  of  men, 
but  with  faithful  friends  and  his  brothers  in  the  faith.  [A 
collective  authority  is  incompetent  to  judge  of  internal  sen- 
timents, of  the  reality  of  faith,  of  the  possible  admixture  of 
imagination  with  it.  A  friend  can  do  this  much  better,  but 
he  must  be  consulted  with  the  fullest  sincerity,  without  any 
reserve.  Often,  when  we  think  we  have  said  all,  the  most 
important  word  remains  in  our  own  heart  concealed  from 
view.] 

I  may  yet  mention,  as  a  means  of  gaining  an  assured  con- 
viction of  a  true  vocation,  exercise — if  it  is  in  general  pos- 
sible for  an  individual  to  exercise  himself  suflSciently  before 
he  is  consecrated  to  the  pastoral  office — exercise  of  such  a 
kind  as  shall  teach  him  the  nature  of  the  duties  to  which,  as 
a  minister,  he  has  devoted  himself.  I  think  that,  without 
attaching  too  much  importance  to  this  plan,  it  is  of  advantage 
to  undertake  some  of  the  labors  of  the  ministry,  within  the 
limits  suggested  by  prudence  and  modesty,  and  under  the 
direction  of  those  of  fuller  experience.*     This  would  impart 

[*  The  course  here  suggested  is  substantially  that  recognized  in 
the  Methodist  Discipline.— T.  0.  S.] 


INTRODUCTION.  139 

a  seriousness  to  the  student's  life,  if  these  works  were  in 
themselves  of  a  serious  character,  and  would  throw  a  light, 
derived  from  experience,  on  the  theories  with  which  he  oc- 
cupies his  mind.  [On  the  same  principle,  young  physicians 
not  only  read  and  listen  to  lectures,  but  attend  to  the  sick. 
Thus  also  should  young  ministers  act;  there  is  a  clinical 
ministry  as  well  as  a  clinical  surgery.]  The  domains  of 
theology  and  the  ministry  are  too  much  occupied  by  theorists 
who  have  not  been  enlightened  by  practice,  and  by  prac- 
ticians who  pay  no  regard  to  theory.  [Bengel  advises  young 
theologians  who  have  not  completed  their  course  of  study  to 
suspend  their  academical  course  for  one  year  and  practice  the 
ministry  in  the  country,  and  afterwards  to  spend  some  time 
at  a  new  university.  Without  prescribing  this  as  a  general 
rule,  it  is  certainly  an  excellent  precept.] 

Generally,  the  serious  and  well-advised  young  man  can,  at 
his  entrance  upon  his  theological  studies,  intelligently  decide 
on  his  vocation,  and,  at  the  end  of  a  year's  study,  his  de- 
cision will  be  either  confirmed  or  cancelled.  At  this  period, 
therefore,  he  ought  to  put  the  question — or  the  question 
ought  to  be  suggested  to  him.  If  he  has  not  any  vocation, 
then  is  the  time  to  recognize  the  fact.  He  cannot  so 
thoroughly  convince  himself  whether  he  has  a  true  vocation  ; 
but  so  far  as  he  believes  he  can  detect  it,  he  may  be  encour- 
aged to  commence  his  studies.  If  he  afterwards  finds  that 
he  has  been  obeying  the  call  of  only  an  imaginary  vocation, 
he  must  have  the  courage  to  retrace  his  steps,  however  late 
the  discovery  may  be  made. 

Let  the  young  man  respect  the  pious  wishes  of  his  parents 
who  are  predisposed  to  this  state,  and  often  regard  it  as  a 
haven  of  safety  for  their  child ;  but  let  him  and  his  parents 
know  well  that  it  is  not  absolutely  a  haven  of  safety ;  that 
the  ministry  alone  does  not  protect  ministers,  and  that  to 
enter  upon  this  course  with  a  vocation  for  an  entirely  differ- 


140  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

ent  career,  is  to  run  the  risk  of  seeing  nature  ultimately  be- 
come strongest,  and  urge  us  to  pursuits,  and  impress  upon  us 
habits,  which,  out  of  the  ministry,  are  innocent,  and  mij^ht 
harmonize  with  a  Christian  character,  but  which,  in  the 
ministry,  are  only  proofs  of  unfaithfulness,  or  causes  of 
offence.* 


*  What  follows  is  taken  from  the  note-books  of  M.  Vinet's  hearers, 
and  is  only  another  form  of  presenting  his  thoughts,  of  which  the 
original  expression  is  given  in  the  text.  We  have  thought  it  right, 
and  we  think  it  may  interest  the  reader,  to  preserve  both  versions. 

[The  question  of  a  vocation  is  the  grand  question,  but  it  does  not 
always  arise  of  itself.  To  resolve  it,  it  must  be  well  weighed,  and 
that  before  entering  upon  the  ministry.  The  student  must  often, 
yea  always,  interrogate  himself,  but  especially  at  two  epochs :  one 
is  at  the  commencement  of  his  special  studies,  the  other  is  at  their 
close.  It  is  natural  for  him  to  entertain  this  question  at  the  com- 
mencement of  his  studies  ;  but  is  he  at  such  a  time  quite  prepared 
to  decide  the  question?  With  some  there  maybe  a  powerful  impulse, 
but  this  is  not  the  case  with  the  majority.  And  even  in  the  case  of 
the  few,  the  impulse  is  not  always  an  infallible  sign  of  a  vocation. 
Great  influence  may  be  traceable  to  the  age  of  the  student.  But  the 
common  condition  is  one  of  indecision,  a  strife  of  tastes  and  ten- 
dencies. Must  we  exclude  from  the  novitiate  those  who  do  not  ex- 
perience in  their  soul  this  vivid  impulse  ?  No,  we  must  try  them ; 
they  may  give  evidence  of  their  being  sincere,  of  being  true  to  their 
belief ;  they  may  appreciate  the  beauty  of  the  ministerial  office ;  they 
may  not  be  urged  merely  by  suggestions  from  without.  It  is  true 
that  for  a  student  to  enter  upon  his  course  of  study  with  such  dis- 
positions will  be  to  expose  himself  to  great  dangers.  AVhen,  after- 
wards, he  is  more  indifferent,  when  the  tendencies  of  his  life  assume 
other  directions,  he  may  perhaps  persevere  in,  instead  of  renouncing, 
the  course  he  has  begun.  This  is  a  danger;  but  we  cannot,  on  this 
account,  exclude  any  one.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  studies,  the  stu- 
dent must  still  interrogate  himself  in  a  resolute  manner.  He  is  no 
longer  to  decide  as  to  the  general  adaptation  between  his  profession 
and  his  heart.  He  must  examine  himself  thoroughly,  and  if  he  finds 
that  he  has  no  vocation,  he  must  be  courageous  enough  to  retrace  his 


INTRODUCTION.  141 

But  he  who  shall  have  made  use  of  all  these  means  -will 
not  the  less,  but  rather  the  more,  feel  how  insufficient  they 
are  iu  theuiselves ;  they  are  only  profitable  to  the  sincere 
and  upright  soul — the  spirit  that  is  free  from  all  unworthy 
preoccupations;  and  how  shall  he  assure  himself  of  this? 
how  can  he  shield  himself  from  all  deception,  if  he  have  not 
first  obtained  that  "  single  eye,"  that  purified  vision,  without 
which  light  is  itself  darkness  ?  How  shall  he  secure  such  a 
disposition  that  objects  may  appear  before  him  as  they  actu- 
ally are  in  themselves,  in  which  no  foreign  corruptions 
mingle  with  them,  in  which  he  may  know  and  judge  them 
with  the  greatest  possible  certainty,  and  in  which,  so  to 
speak,  no  grave  and  irreparable  error  can  find  admittance  ? 
This  isolation,  this  select  and  purified  central  position,  is 
prayer.     In  prayer  is  truth  to  be  found. 

No  subject  can  be  found  more  worthy  of  prayer,  since  it  is 
to  decide  whether  we  are  to  exhort  in  the  name  of  God,  and 
as  if  God  made  exhortation  by  us.  2  Cor.  v.  20.  How  shall 
we  dare  to  do  this  without  his  permission  ?  And  how  shall 
we  be  sure  that  we  have  his  permission,  when,  being  able  to 
ask  him  directly,  we  omit  to  do  so  ?  Not  that  I  attribute  to 
prayer  any  magic  or  supernatural  effect.  God  does  not  pro- 
fess to  suspend  or  exempt  us  from  the  exercise  of  our  natural 
faculties  when  he  invites  us  to  pray ;  he  docs  not  promise  to 
answer,  in  a  direct  way,  the  question  which  we  address  to 
him :  Lord,  shall  I  go  ?  .  .  .  Go.  But,  without  regarding 
the  intrinsic  virtue  that  is  attached  to  prayer,  it  is  possible 
for  God,  who  is  completely  Lord  of  our  spirit  and  of  our  cir- 
cumstances, to  combine  all  in  such  a  way  that  we  shall  see 

steps.  Lastly,  the  minister  who,  after  some  considerable  experience 
of  his  work,  finds  himself  to  be  without  a  vocation,  would  indeed 
make  the  discovery  very  late,  but  not  too  late  to  prevent  him  from 
forsaking  the  ministry. — Ed.] 


142  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

what  we  ought  to  see,  and  that  we  shall  not  believe  ourselves 
to  see  that  which  has  no  reality.  His  providence  is  not  ex- 
ercised at  the  price  of  our  liberty,  which  must  remain  unim- 
paired. 

We  shall  never  call  upon  God,  if  we  do  not  call  upon  him 
in  the  times  when  danger  is  most  imminent.  And  surely  this 
is  the  case  when  there  is  a  possibility  of  our  entering  upon 
the  ministry  without  a  vocation.  Not  reading,  nor  example, 
nor  company,  not  the  influence  of  education  and  authority, 
not  temptation  from  within  or  from  without,  not  the  extremes 
of  riches  or  poverty — nothing  can  so  deeply  or  irremediably 
corrupt  the  heart  as  a  ministry  exercised  without  a  vocation 
to  it ;  that  is  to  say,  without  those  convictions  and  feelings 
which  alone  can  constitute  a  legitimate  basis  to  it.  St.  Cyran 
is  right  when  he  says,  "  that  there  are  no  men  more  hope- 
lessly abandoned  than  those  who,  not  having  been  called  to 
the  priesthood  by  the  vocation  of  God,  do  not  perform  any 
thing  worthy  of  the  priesthood  during  the  whole  course  of 
their  lives."*  Terrible,  yet  true  thought !  For,  on  the  one 
hand,  it  is  certain  that,  by  a  ministry  without  a  vocation,  ex- 
actly so  much  evil  is  done  to  himself  by  the  man  who  pre- 
sumes to  exercise  it,  as  good  is  done  to  himself  by  the  man 
who  exercises  a  ministry  to  which  he  has  been  truly  called; 
that  whatsoever  impresses  and  edifies  the  true  pastor,  propor- 
tionately hardens  the  false  one,  that  every  word  of  truth 
which  he  utters  closes  his  mind  yet  more  to  the  feeling  of 
truth,  and  that  he  perishes  by  means  of  that  which  quickens 
others.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  easy  to  understand 
that  the  crime  of  usurpation  and  of  hypocrisy  is  such  that  no 
scandal  in  manners  can  sensibly  add  unto  it,  and  even  that 
startling  scandals,  while  they  disgrace  the  minister  more, 
compromise  the  ministry  less.     These  scandals  point  out  the 

'*  St.  Cyran's  Thoughts  on  the  Priesthood. 


INTRODUCTION.  143 

man  as  a  slave  who  resists  the  fetters  which  restrain  him ; 
they  are  a  kind  of  abdication  of  the  ministry ;  the  minister 
who  is  guilty  of  them  is  a  robber,  but  not  an  impostor,  and 
perhaps  he  corrupts  himself  less  by  his  excesses  than  by  his 
hypocrisy.  The  other  alternative  causes  far  more  evil :  he 
has  undertaken  the  duties  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  only 
that  he  may  weaken  its  powers,  that  he  may  imprison  the 
souls  which  are  intrusted  to  him  in  empty  and  dead  forms, 
and  lull  them  into  a  yet  deeper  slumber.  Strange  fact,  yet 
true  !  The  scandals  which  he  might  cause  by  his  irregular 
conduct  would  be  comparative  benefits ;  they  would  destroy 
the  illusion ;  they  would  proclaim  that  truth  is  elsewhere,  or 
at  least  that  it  is  not  here  ;  but  a  decency  of  manners,  some 
regularity  in  the  performance  of  purely  external  duties,  all 
without  conviction,  without  piety  or  life,  these  are  the  means 
most  fatally  adapted  to  keep  souls  far  from  the  living  waters, 
and  near  the  foul  and  stagnant  waters  of  self-righteousness, 
formalism,  or  indifference.  I  do  not  ask  whether  the  profli- 
gate minister  is  more  or  less  guilty,  but,  I  doubt  not,  he  does 
less  evil. 

Before  such  terrible  dangers,  how  infatuated  is  he  who  will 
not  tremble,  who  does  not  learn  to  distrust  all  appearances, 
to  suspect  the  wishes,  invitations,  and  counsels  of  those  whom 
he  loves  most  tenderly ;  who,  in  a  word,  does  not  resist  all 
united  impressions,  and  seek  to  raise  himself,  by  prayer,  so 
far  above  all  the  seductions  of  his  imagination,  and  all  the 
influences  of  those  by  whom  he  is  surrounded,  that  he  may 
no  longer  find  any  thing  interposing  between  himself  and  the 
truth.  What  he  desires  is  avocation  which  has  come  to  him 
from  God  himself;  he  will  not  be  satisfied  with  less ;  he  will 
not  rest  until  he  has  obtained  from  God  the  solemn  decision, 
Go,  or.  Go  not.  Doubtless  God  will  not  articulately  pronounce 
this  word.  But  God  will  cause  all  objects,  the  consideration 
of  which  ought  to  determine  his  course,  to  be  faithfully  and 


144  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

clearly  reflected  ia  the  mirror  of  his  conscience;  and,  by 
Divine  help,  he  will  have  the  consciousness,  if  I  may  so 
speak,  that  he  has  been  called  by  his  highest  consciousness — 
his  conscience — that  the  new  man  has  spoken,  and  not  the 
natural  man. 


DUTIES  OF  THE  PASTOR. 


The  plan  which  I  adopt  is  not  perhaps  the  best ;  but  we 
may  tolerate  any  classification  of  matters,  provided  it  excludes 
nothing  essential,  and  includes  nothing  false. 

My  plan  is  to  trace  several  concentric  circles  around  the 
pastor's  own  spirit ;  which  is  my  centre  and  my  point  of  de- 
parture. In  the  first  place,  I  give  certain  rules  which  belong 
to  the  purely  individual  and  interior  life  of  the  pastor — that 
special  and  distinct  sphere  of  life  by  which  all  the  other 
spheres  of  his  existence  are  determined. 

I  pass  afterwards  to  the  consideration  of  his  social  life,  and 
primarily  his  domestic  life — always  keeping  in  view  his  dis- 
tinctive position  as  a  pastor. 

Lastly,  I  come  to  his  pastoral  life  properly  so  called,  in 
which  I  distinguish  the  imstoral,  the  liturgical^  and  the 
preaching  functions. 


146  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 


FIRST  PART, 


INDIVIDUAL    AND    INTERIOR    LIFE. 

I  PRESUPPOSE  a  holy  vocation  and  a  legitimate  entrance,  a 
pastoral  and  even  a  fervent  spirit. 

A  pastor  must,  as  any  other  Christian,  strengthen  and  con- 
firm his  vocation.  (^[3e(3alav  TTOietodat,  2  Pet.  i.  10.)  [In 
this  there  is  a  deep  mystery — the  profound  and  invisible  in- 
tercourse between  the  human  will  which  is  moved  and  the 
Divine  will  which  moves  it.]  It  is  with  the  vocation  as  with 
conversion  :  in  one  sense  a  man  is  called  only  once,  as  he  is 
converted  only  once ;  in  another  sense,  he  is  called  and  con- 
verted every  day.  Analogy  alone  would  here  be  sufficient, 
and  even  would  imply  an  d  fortiori  argument ;  but  the  gos- 
pel is  explicit  on  this  point.  St.  Paul  says  to  Timothy,  "  I 
put  thee  in  remembrance  that  thou  stir  up  the  gift  of  God 
which  is  in  thee."     2  Tim.  i.  6. 

I  do  not  refer  to  those  who  undertake  to  create  for  them- 
selves a  vocation  when  their  work  should  be  to  apply  it. 
Will  the  exercise  of  the  ministry  suffice  for  this  ?  It  may 
contribute  to  it,  but  it  may  injure  it.  The  exercise  of  the 
ministry  threatens  the  spirit  of  the  ministry,  unless  it  is  sus- 
tained from  within.    If  this  equilibrium  does  not  exist,  if  the 


i 


INDIVIDUAL    AND    INTERIOR     LIFE.  147 

interior  does  not  sufficiently  react  on  the  exterior,  the  ex- 
terior will  injure  the  interior,  even  as  the  interior  would  un- 
doubtedly perish  without  the  nutriment  supplied  by  external 
activity.  There  is  danger  lest  feeling  may  pass  into  official- 
ism.* Much  imagination  mingles  with  our  first  impressions, 
and  when  once  we  have  expended  what  imagination  we  had, 
and  its  assistance  is  wanting  to  us — if  we  are  brought  to  the 
necessity  of  feeling  the  realities  of  our  position  only  by  means 
of  our  heart  and  conscience — there  is  great  danger  lest  our 
impressions  should  lose  their  force  and  vivacity. f    We  must, 

*  "  The  first  time  that  the  priests  and  Levites  belield  in  the  desert 
the  holy  tabernacle  which  Moses  had  constructed,  the  miraculous 
cloud  which  went  before  it,  the  Divine  majesty  which  covered  this 
awful  spot,  the  oracles  which  proceeded  from  the  inmost  sanctuary, 
tlie  august  magnificence  and  splendor  of  the  sacrifices  and  ceremo- 
nials, they  would  approacli  it  with  no  sentiment  but  that  of  lioly  fear; 
no  omission  would  be  made  from  the  purifications  and  all  the  other 
preparations  enjoined  to  ministers  by  the  law.  But  gradually  the 
daily  sight  of  the  tabernacle  familiarized  them  witii  this  sacred 
place;  their  precautions  diminished  with  their  awe  ;  the  marvel  of 
the  pillar  of  fire  which  God  placed  there  every  day  was  abated  by 
long  usage.  Then  shortly  followed  profanations ;  rash  and  presum- 
ing ministers  dared  to  offer  a  strange  fire  ;  the  duties  reserved  for 
the  high-priest  alone  were  usurped  by  others,  till  the  daughters  of 
the  IMidianites  soon  became  to  them  an  occasion  of  falling  and  of 
offence,  and,  in  the  whole  tribe  of  Levi,  scarcely  a  Phineas  could  be 
found,  one  single  priest  witli  so  much  holy  zeal  as  to  dare  to  avenge 
tlie  honor  of  the  priesthood  and  the  sanctity  of  the  law  which  had 
been  thus  shamefully  dishonored  before  an  unfaitliful  people.  See 
here  a  type  of  our  own  history." — Massillon's  Discourse  on  the  Duty 
of  Priests  to  renew  themselves  in  the  spirit  of  their  vocation. 

f  [In  the  first  fervor  of  Christian  and  ministerial  life,  imagination 
easily  and  even  necessarily  enters.  Imagination  must  perform  its 
part  in  all  life :  it  is  a  kind  of  channel  through  which  we  receive 
many  ideas  which  otherwise  would  never  reach  us.  And  how  far  its 
power  may  go  !  it  can  even  give  us  the  impression  of  our  possessing 
a  life  which  is  entirely  strange  to  us !     It  enters  into  all  our  moral 


148  •      PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

therefore,  not  trust  to  the  vivacity  of  our  first  impressions ; 
that  which  touches  us  most  keenly  to-day  will  leave  us  cold 
at  some  future  time ;  we  shall  be  reduced  to  such  impressions 
of  these  objects  as  can  be  produced  by  their  direct  relation 
to  our  heart  and  conscience,  [and  he  who  at  first  appeared 
full  of  zeal  finds  himself  finally  to  have  no  real  connection 
with  his  duties.  We  must  then  renew  our  vocation,  and  for- 
tify the  moral  element,  as  the  charm  of  novelty  subsides.] 

Now  the  first  means  of  renewing  our  vocation  as  pastors  is 
to  renew  our  vocation  as  Christians ;  it  is  not  to  forget  the 
Christian  in  order  to  dream  of  the  pastor  :  the  one  cannot 
alone  and  of  itself  transact  all  the  duties  that  belong  to  the 
other.  It  is  important  for  us,  even  as  pastors,  to  recognize 
the  fact  that  our  own  soul  is  the  first  of  those  which  are  in- 
trusted to  us,  the  first  for  which  we  have  to  exercise  our 
ministry,  and  that  our  first  business  is  to  be  our  own  pastor. 

Whether  it  be  that  we  know  not  how  to  promote  the  sal- 
vation of  others  while  we  are  neglecting  our  own,  or  that  it 
is  right  that  the  charity  of  each  man  should  begin  its  exercise 
within  himself,  yet  Saint  Paul,  addressing  ministers  gener- 
ally in  the  person  of  Timothy,  speaks  to  them  in  the  first 
place  of  themselves:  "Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and  to  the 
doctrine ;  continue  in  them ;  for  in  doing  this  thou  shalt 
both  save  thyself  and  them  that  hear  thee."  1  Tim.  iv.  16. 
"  Take  heed  therefore  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock 
over  the  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers." 
Acts  XX.  28.* 

acts,  and  sometimes  in  a  very  strong  measure.  When  it  disappears, 
all  that  it  has  created  disappears  with  it  as  a  phantom,  and  the  resi- 
duum that  is  left  is  the  net  product  of  the  labor  which  has  been  ex- 
pended upon  us.  This  is  often  very  little ;  only  the  dregs  of  the  cup 
remain  at  the  bottom,  the  draught  of  imagination  has  been  drunk.] 
*  "To  follow  the  order  prescribed  by  St.  Paul,  (Acts  xx.  28:  1 
Tim.  iv.  16,)  a  bishop  must  begin  the  discharge  of  his  duties  by  at- 


INDIVIDUAL    AND    INTERIOR    LIFE.  149 

It  is,  however,  incumbent  upon  us  also  to  renew  dirrctli/ 
our  assurance  of  our  pastoral  vocation,  which  involves  that 
we  should  incessantly  bring  ourselves  back  to  the  disposition 
which  originally  decided  our  vocation. 

Now,  if  mere  exercise  of  the  ministry  does  not  suffice  to 
bring  us  back  constantly  to  this  point,  we  must  seek  the 
means  for  performing  this  duty  elsewhere,  outside  the  min- 
istry. 

The  first,  or  rather  the  condition  for  all  other  means,  is 
solitude.* 

We  shall  not  exaggerate ;  we  do  not  intend  to  recommend 
solitude,  to  the  exclusion  or  to  the  detriment  of  social  life. 
The  pastor  ought  sometimes  to  retire  from  society,  in  order 
that  he  may  return  to  it  better  prepared  to  influence  it 
profitably.  Too  profound  and  protracted  solitude  has  other 
dangers  truly,  but  as  great  dangers  as  those  that  are  to  be  found 
in  the  world :  it  is,  as  a  habit,  contrary  to  the  will  of  the 
Creator,  who  has  declared  that  it  is  not  good  for  man  to  be 
alone ;  it  is  contrary  to  the  purpose  of  Jesus  Christ,  who 

tending  to  his  own  soul ;  he  should,  before  all  things,  be  concerned 
for  his  own  salvation.  Before  he  extends  his  charity  to  his  neiglibor, 
he  must  be  replenished  Avith  holiness  from  God.  Before  he  is  touched 
with  the  misery  of  others,  he  must  be  sensible  to  his  own  ills  and 
maladies  ;  before  he  exhorts  others  to  yield  obedience  to  the  Divine 
law,  he  must  set  the  pattern  of  obedience  himself.  The  first  duty  of 
a  bishop  is  to  be  a  saint." — Duguet's  Treatise  on  the  Duties  of  a 
Bishop;  Art.  II.,  §  1.  Gregory  of  Nazianzen  expresses  himself  thus 
on  the  same  subject:  "He  must  first  be  purified,  and  then  pm-ify 
others ;  first  be  instructed,  and  then  instruct  others ;  become  him- 
self a  light,  and  then  enlighten  others ;  himself  draw  near  to  God, 
and  then  cause  others  to  approach ;  first  be  himself  sanctified,  and 
then  make  others  saints." 

*  Sec  on  this  subject  ISI.  Vinci's  discourse  entitled,  Solitude  Recom- 
mended to  the  Pastor. — Ed. 


150  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

prayed  to  his  Father  not  to  take  us  out  of  the  world,  but  to 
keep  us  from  its  evil :  it  is  therefore  to  be  only  recommended 
as  an  exception,  not  as  a  rule ;  but  as  an  exception  or  as  a 
remedy  it  is  greatly  to  be  recommended.  We  do  not  nourish 
ourselves  by  remedies. 

We  will  not  then  say  that  solitude  is  in  itself  good ;  it  is 
only  good  on  certain  conditions.  [It  has  often  been  spoken 
of  with  that  kind  of  exclusive  enthusiasm  which  we  feel  for 
any  thing  which  has  once  charmed  us.  Poets,*  moralists, 
and  philosophers  have  glorified  it,  and  undoubtedly  their 
united  eulogies  are  not  altogether  unfounded ;  but  we  must 
draw  distinctions.]  We  would  rather  recommend  an  interior 
solitude,  or  a  spirit  of  solitude — the  habit  of  being  alone 
while  in  the  midst  of  the  world — [tranquil  amidst  tumult, 
immovable  amidst  movement ;]  and  he  who  is  capable  of  this 
kind  of  solitude  may  be  held  excused  from  the  other.  We 
believe,  also,  that  where  exterior  solitude  is  denied  us,  we 
may  so  carefully  cultivate  the  other  that  it  shall  suffice. 

[Exterior  solitude  is  evil  unless  it  is  good.  If  we  have 
the  world  in  our  heart,  we  shall  carry  it  with  us  into  the 
closet.]  It  is  very  unhealthy  for  an  unsocial  man,  who  is 
envious  or  irritated,  when  he  resorts  to  it  in  order  thereby  to 
nourish  his  resentments  and  his  antipathies ;  and  it  is  often 
the  case,  that  when  we  cannot  suggest  any  thing  better  to  a  man 
who  is  agitated  by  some  passion,  intercourse  with  men  will  i 
attract  him,  and  engage  him  in  some  useful  activity.  Soli- 
tude is  good  or  evil,  according  as  the  purposes  for  which  it  is 
sought  are  right  or  wrong. 

But  solitude  cannot  fail  to  be  useful  to  him  who  seeks  for 
good  in  it,  precisely  because  his  search  is  of  this  character. 
And  even  when  we  have  not  made  proof  of  this  by  expe- 

*  See,  among  others,  La  Fontaine's  Dream  of  an  Inhabitant  of 
Mogul — The  Hospitaller  and  the  Recluse. 


INDIVIDUAL    AND     INTERIOR     LIFE.  151 

ricnce,  it  is  easily  understood  how  that  which  causes  worldly 
objects  to  vanish,  and  hushes  their  confused  din,  is  favorable 
to  self-discourse  and  self-culture;  that,  indeed,  this  self-cul- 
ture cannot  be  successfully  pursued  except  under  this  con- 
dition ;  and  that  those  truths  especially  which  concern  the 
conscience  are  then  most  easily  disengaged  from  all  associa- 
tion with  that  which  is  foreign  to  them,  and  by  which  they 
are  so  burdened  and  obscured  in  the  discussions  which  are 
carried  on  concerning  them.* 

Life  is,  in  our  days,  composed  of  so  many  elements,  ex- 
tended over  so  many  surfaces,  that  the  result  is  a  kind  of 
dazzled  bewilderment,  and  the  eye  needs  to  rest  in  a  calm  and 
equable  daylight  of  solitude. f 

We  must  not  then  depreciate  external  means.  Jesus 
Christ  did  not  depreciate  them.  We  find,  from  the  evange- 
lists, that  ho  often  retired  apart,  and  passed  long  hours  far 
from  the  noise  of  men.  If  this  aid  was  necessary  for  Jesus 
Christ,  how  can  it  fail  to  be  useful  to  us  ?  "I  have  learned 
from  St.  Augustin,"  says  Bossuet,  "that  the  earnest  spirit 
makes  for  itself  a  solitude  :  Gignit  cnim  aihi  ipsa  mentis  in- 
tcntio  solitudineni.     But  let  us  not  flatter  ourselves :  if  we 

*  St.  Gregory  calls  the  occupations  of  the  ministry  "a  tempest  for 
the  spirit."  St.  Bernard,  writing  to  Pope  Eugene,  says,  "Since  you 
possess  all  men,  be  j'ourself  one  of  those  whom  you  possess.  Why 
will  j'ou  be  cheated  out  of  that  only  gift  which  you  can  make  to 
yourself?  How  long  will  j'ou  delay  to  receive  yourself  when  you 
have  received  every  one  else?  You  recognize  the  fact  that  you  are 
a  debtor  to  wise  and  foolish,  and  you  refuse  yourself  to  yourself 
alone!  .  .  .  All  have  their  share  in  you;  all  refresh  themselves  by 
your  side  as  from  a  public  fountain,  and  yon  yourself  remain  afar  off 
athirst." — St.  Bernard's  Treatise  on  Consideration,  Book  i.,  ch.  v. 

f  See  on  the  Catholic  institution  of  Retreats,  Massillon's  third 
synodical  discourse  On  the  necessity  of  Retreats  in  order  to  renewal 
in  the  Grace  of  the  Priesthood ;  and  Bourdalouc's  Warning  on  the 
Spiritual  Retreat. 


152  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

desire  to  preserve  the  forces  of  the  soul,  we  must  learn  to 
appropriate  to  ourselves  hours  for  an  effective  solitude  and 
retirement.* 

[However,  solitude  is  only  good  as  it  is  a  period  of  activity ; 
the  peace,  the  repose  which  it  offers,  are  only  a  framework 
which  must  be  filled  up.  Vagrancy  of  thought  is  always 
mischievous.  Christianity  leads  to  thought,  and  not  to 
revery.] 

The  general  effect  of  solitude  which  we  have  described, 
renders  it  precious  to  the  minister  who  may  employ  it  in  these 
three  ways  : 

1.  He  may  mentally  register  his  internal  and  external 
actions  and  tendencies.  [This  is  an  examination  which  should 
often  be  made ;  for  the  progress  of  evil  is  as  rapid  as  it  is 
insensible.  If  we  are  not  better  to-day  than  we  were  yester- 
day, we  are  worse.  If  we  are  diligent  stewards,  we  shall  take 
account  every  night  of  our  possessions,  for  the  thief  may 
come  during  the  night.  However,  a  too  minute  method  of  self- 
examination  is  a  ready  road  to  selfishness ;  even  here,  there- 
fore, we  must  be  watchful,  for  the  enemy  insinuates  himself 
through  all  avenues.  It  has  been  sometimes  recommended 
to  a  minister — a  suggestion  which  is  often  urged  in  too  un- 
qualified a  manner — to  keep  a  detailed  daily  journal.  We 
must  not  speak  too  much  of  ourselves,  even  if  we  say  what 
is  evil ;  but  it  is  useful  to  take  note  of  the  most  important 
facts  of  our  life.] 

2.  He  may  collect  the  results  of  his  experience.  [Expe- 
rience is  properly  a  mental  reaction  on  facts.  It  is  not  suf- 
ficient to  have  seen  and  acted ;  we  must  reflect,  analyze,  dis- 
tinguish, classify.]  '*We  might  pass  through  a  long  life," 
says  Argenson,  "  in  laboring  without  principles,  but  we  should 

*  Bossuet's  Funeral  Oration  for  Maria  Theresa  of  Austria.  For 
tlie  quotation  from  Augustin  see  De  divers,  guxst.  ad  simplic,  lib.  ii., 
qufest.  iv,,  vol.  vi.,  col.  118. 


INDIVIDUAL    AND    INTERIOR    LIFE.  153 

never  learn  any  tiling  from  it.  Experience  is  much  rather 
a  fruit  of  the  reflections  which  we  have  made  on  what  we 
have  seen,  than  the  result  of  a  multitude  of  facts  to  which 
we  have  not  given  all  the  attention  which  they  deserve." 

3.  He  may  seek  Divine  guidance.  The  holiest  occupations 
cannot  dispense  with  this.  [And  how  much  more  is  it  neces- 
sary for  the  minister  !  He  must  regulate  his  after-conduct, 
make  his  resolutions,  deliberate  with  himself.  Many  false  steps 
will  be  made,  especially  in  the  earlier  periods  of  his  labor,  if 
he  has  found  no  plan  of  regular  action.  But  let  God  be  invited 
to  counsel  us ;  never  let  our  deliberations  be  carried  on  in  his 
absence.] 

Prayer  finds  its  place  naturally  when  speaking  of  solitude ; 
but  we  will  consider  it  separately  as  a  second  means  of  re- 
newing the  vocation.  It  is  not  only  a  duty  and  a  privilege ; 
it  is  not  only  a  preparation  for  the  ministry ;  it  is  one  of  its 
labors,  for  the  performance  of  which  the  first  ministers  of 
Jesus  Christ  desired  to  be  released  from  some  secondary 
duties.     Time  must  be  specially  devoted  to  this.    Acts  vi.  4. 

Prayer  is  necessary,  in  order  that  we  may  be  kept  to  the 
true  point  from  whence  to  look  at  the  world,  from  which  we 
arc  always  in  danger  of  departing ;  to  cure  the  wounds 
caused  by  self-love  and  sensibility ;  to  reanimate  decaying 
courage ;  to  prevent  the  invasion,  which  is  ever  to  be  appre- 
hended, of  indolence,  frivolity,  indiff"erence,  of  spiritual  or 
ecclesiastical  pride,  of  the  vanity  of  the  preacher,  or  the 
jealousy  of  the  worker.  Prayer  is  like  the  air  in  certain 
isles  of  the  ocean,  which  is  so  pure  that  no  vermin  can  live 
in  it.  [We  ought  to  surround  ourselves  by  this  atmosphere 
as  the  diver  is  surrounded  by  the  diving-bell,  before  he  de- 
scends into  the  sea.*] 

*  Frequent  prayer  is  recommended  to  the  pastor  by  Harms. — Pas- 
toraltheologie,  vol.  i.,  p.  25. 


154  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

But  the  pastor's  prayer  is  a  sacerdotal  'prayer ;  and  as 
such,  it  belongs  to  his  office.  It  has  been  said,  He  that 
labors  prays  )  how  much  more  truly  may  we  say,  that  he  who 
prays  labors  !  It  is  a  work  like  that  of  Moses  on  the  moun- 
tain. Intercession  is  that  which  remains  to  the  minister  from 
the  priesthood.*  It  was  practiced  directly  by  the  great  Pas- 
tor and  his  apostles,  who,  without  ceasing,  made  mention  of 
their  flocks  in  their  prayers,  while  at  the  same  time  they  en- 
treated the  supplications  of  their  flocks.f 

[Another  occupation  for  the  pastor's  hour  of  retirement,  and 
a  third  method  of  renewing  his  vocation,  consists  in]  study. 
In  the  first  place,  the  study  of  the  Bible.  This  study,  even 
when  sundered  from  all  that  is  scientific,  is  inexhaustible ; 
and  we  may,  even  to  the  close  of  life,  make  new  discoveries 
by  it.  It  is  both  obligatory  and  necessary  for  the  pastor ; 
obligatory,  because  his  duty  is  no  other  than  to  preach  this 
word,  or  according  to  this  word,  and  because  his  ministry 
will  have  so  much  the  more  interest,  and  be  so  much  the 
more  fruitful,  as  his  words  are  penetrated  with  the  spirit  of 
this  word,  and  even  with  the  letter  of  it.| 

Consider  the  richness  of  interest  in  the  preaching  of  that 
minister  who  does  not  limit  himself  to  acquaintance  with 
and  citation  from  only  certain  parts,  but  who  knows  and  re- 
fers to  the  whole. 

*  Not  only  intercession,  but  prayer,  for  the  coming  of  God's  king- 
dom. See  Isaiah  Ixii.  6,  7 :  "  Ye  that  make  mention  of  the  Lord, 
keep  not  silence,  and  give  him  no  rest,  till  be  establish,  and  till  be 
make  Jerusalem  a  jjraise  in  the  earth." 

•)•  See  Bacon's  prayer  before  his  study  ;  and  Kepler's  prayer.  Both 
these,  and  two  passages  from  Massillon,  are  given  in  the  Appendix, 
Note  VII. 

X  See  1  Tim.  iv.  13  :  "  Give  attendance  to  reading;"  .  .  .  and  2 
Tim.  iii.  15-17,  "From  a  child  thou  hast  known  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures." .  .  . 


INDIVIDUAL    AND    INTERIOR    LIFE.  155 

[For  the  care  of  souls  the  Bible  is  still  more  necessary. 
The  pastor  is  in  danger  of  being  often  taken  unawares,  if  he 
is  not  familiar  with  the  word  of  God.  It  is  remarkable  to 
observe  the  power  which  has  been  possessed  by  some  mis- 
sionaries through  their  profound  acquaintance  with  the  Scrip- 
tures. They  have,  undoubtedly,  not  learnt  it  by  heart,  but 
they  know  it  from  their  hearts.  This  is  the  best  method, 
and  belongs  to  those  who  have  been  impressed  by  it.]  It  is 
to  be  read  to  promote  the  life  both  of  the  pastor  and  of  the 
Christian.  There  is  a  danger  of  reading  it  principally  as  a 
preacher.  The  minister  must  read  it,  not  to  find  passages 
for  reference,  and  texts  chiefly,  but  to  gain  power,  virtue, 
inspiration.  Otherwise  it  is  not  a  book,  but  a  collection  of 
texts. 

Study  the  holy  men  as  well  as  the  holy  words  of  the  Bible. 
[This  study  has  been  too  much  neglected;  these  lives  are 
messages  of  God  to  us.  Christianity  is  not,  in  its  deepest 
foundations,  a  book,  although  it  rests  upon  the  basis  of  a 
book ;  it  is  a  fact,  and  a  moral  fact.]  In  general,  study  the 
lives  of  saints,  pastors,  and  missionaries.  [They  tend  to  keep 
us  up  to  the  height  of  our  ministry.  Habit  cannot  maintain 
us  there.] 

The  Bible  should  be  studied  in  the  original.  [This  is  a 
very  necessary  thing,  even  for  the  country  pastor;  for  his 
aim  is  to  become  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  Scriptures. 
We  can,  doubtless,  conceive  of  a  preaching  that  shall  be 
blessed  without  the  employment  of  this  aid  ;  but  a  knowledge 
of  the  sacred  languages  is  a  privilege  which  ought  not  to  be 
despised.] 

[Together  with,  or  rather  in  subordination  to  the  study  of 
the  Bible,  there  are  other  studies  which  claim  the  interest  of 
the  pastor.]  We  begin  by  separating  them  from  the  abuses 
with  which  they  may  be  confounded. 


166  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

1.  The  abuse  of  studying  frivolous  things,  or  of  study  un- 
dertaken with  frivolous  purposes.  [We  must  be  on  our 
guard  against  studies  pursued  merely  from  a  motive  of  cu- 
riosity, which  can  only  serve  to  gratify  our  vanity ;  avoid]  the 
"  vain  questions"  of  which  St.  Paul  speaks.* 

2.  The  abuse  of  seeking  in  study  that  which  it  cannot 
give — a  true  knowledge  of  God,  the  love  of  God,  peace  of 
mind.  When  knowledge  has  been  carried  so  far  as  to  render 
our  darkness  visible,  it  has,  in  some  matters,  rendered  us  the 
greatest  service  that  we  can  expect  from  it.  It  is  a  propae- 
deutic ;  it  is  as  the  law,  and  has  the  same  oflSce — that  of  "  a 
schoolmaster  to  bring  us  to  Christ ;"  but  it  is  not  the  way, 
the  truth,  and  the  life.  We  may,  with  much  knowledge, 
have  no  faith ;  we  may  believe,  and  believe  well,  without 
any  science :  the  law  of  God,  and  much  more  the  gospel, 
"  gives  understanding  to  the  simple. "■}"  There  is,  according 
to  St.  John,  an  unction  which  teaches  us  all  things,  and  after 
which  we  need  not  human  teaching.     1  John  ii.  27. 

3.  Lastly,  the  abuse  of  excess;  that  is  to  say,  devoting 
too  much  of  our  time  and  strength  to  a  study  to  which  we 
ought  not  to  sacrifice  our  ministry,  since  its  only  use  is  to 
prepare  us  for  our  work,  or  to  provide  a  convenient  relaxation 
after  it.  [This  excess  is  a  neglect  of  the  end  for  the  sake  of 
the  means.]  The  least  duty  should  appear  to  us  more  im- 
portant than  the  most  interesting  study,  and  should  always 
have  a  paramount  claim. | 

[A  question  is  here  suggested  relative  to]  ministers  as  en- 
gaged in  tuition — a  very  difficult  question.     It  was  not  so 

*  ^^ Disordered  [voacov)  about  questions  and  strifes  of  words."  1 
Tim.  vi.  4. 

f  "  The  meek  will  he  guide  in  judgment ;  and  the  meek  will  he 
teach  his  way."     Psalm  xxv.  9. 

X  See  La  Bruyere's  Clitrphoron. — Characters.  Chapter  on  the  Ad- 
vantages of  Fortune. 


INDIVIDUAL    AND    INTERIOR    LIFE.  157 

difficult  formerly ;  perhaps  it  will  not  be  so  always.  [There 
was  a  time  when  all  would  have  thought  it  natural  for  a 
priest  to  be  an  instructor  in  secular  learning;  to-day  it  is 
thought  otherwise.  Science  has  become  secularized ;  it  is 
separated  from  religion,  and  perhaps  it  will  on  that  account 
render  it  better  service.*  Do  we,  however,  say  that  the  school- 
master's office  is  incompatible  with  ministerial  duties?  No; 
it  also  is  a  ministry.  But  in  the  actual  relations  of  life,  a 
change  has  taken  place ;  a  man  may  consecrate  himself  to 
the  ministry,  and  having  done  so,  he  has  a  choice  between 
the  pastorate  and  the  instruction  of  youth.] 

These  abuses  being  avoided,  we  believe  we  may  recommend 
to  the  minister  to  devote  part  of  his  time  to  study. 

1.  In  view  of  the  office  of  the  ministry,  a  course  of  study 
is  prescribed ;  that  which  is  learned,  is  learned  that  it  may 
be  applied  to  the  work  of  the  pastorate,  and  for  this  end  not 
only  the  most  general  results,  but  the  most  minute  particulars 
are  studied.  Now  it  is  well  known  that  we  are  in  danger  of 
losing  that  which  we  do  not  constantly  revive.  And,  more- 
over, wc  must  not  imagine  that  we  have  learned  at  the  uni- 
versity all  that  we  can  or  need  to  learn.  Science  has  in 
several  important  points  made  great  advances,  perhaps  changed 
in  some  of  its  essential  features,  since  we  left  the  academy. 

2.  It  is  very  disadvantageous  for  a  man  to  occupy  his  mind 
solely  with  practical,  special,  individual  questions ;  [this  gives 
narrowness  to  the  mind,  and  is  even  injurious  to  practice.] 
This  evil  is  remedied  by  science,  [which  helps  us  to  correct 
the  abuses  and  imperfections  of  practice  by  comparing  them 
with  theory.]  Bcngel  thought  it  would  be  advantageous  for 
a  student  to  attempt  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  pastor   for 

[*  Vinet  does  not  mean  that  the  Church  and  the  ministry  should 
not  patronize  science,  or  that  teachers  of  science  should  ignore  the 
claims  of  religion ;  but  that  as  a  general  rule  minister.s  should  leave 
to  laymen  the  province  of  secular  instruction. — T.  0.  S.] 


158  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

some  time  in  the  country,  and  then  to  return  and  complete 
his  studies.*  Thus  life  would  lend  its  light  to  science,  action 
would  illustrate  ideas,  and  conversely.  Harms  finds  equally 
a  motive  to  cultivate  science  in  the  great  or  in  the  small 
number  of  a  minister's  occupations. 

[Apart  from  practice,  thought  will  become  impoverished 
without  study ;  the  most  active  and  fertile  minds  have  per- 
ceived this.  We  cannot  derive  all  the  nourishment  we  need 
from  ourselves ;  without  borrowing  we  cannot  create.  It  is 
true  that  there  are  other  methods  of  study  besides  reading. 
When  we  have  learned  any  thing  from  books,  and  in  the  best 
of  books  as  well  as  in  others,  we  must  make  use  of  our  native 
powers  in  order  to  assimilate  it,  as  also  we  assimilate  nourish- 
ment for  the  body.  But  when,  without  the  aid  of  books,  or 
in  the  absence  of  facts,  we  labor  in  solitude,  on  what  materials 
shall  we  labor  unless  it  be  on  those  supplied  by  recollection  ? 
Whence  do  our  thoughts  arise  except  from  facts,  or  from 
books,  or  from  social  intercourse  ? — a  great  volume,  which 
also  demands  our  careful  study.  We  must  therefore  study 
in  order  to  excite  and  enrich  our  own  thoughts  by  means  of 
the  thoughts  of  other  men.  Those  who  do  not  study  will  see 
their  talent  gradually  fading  away,  and  will  become  old  and 
superannuated  in  mind  before  their  time.  Experience  demon- 
strates this  abundantly,  so  far  as  preaching  is  concerned. 
Whence  comes  it  that  preachers  who  were  so  admired  when 
they  entered  upon  their  course,  often  deteriorate  so  rapidly, 
or  disappoint  many  of  the  lofty  expectations  which  they  had 
excited  ?     Very  generally  the  reason  is,  because  they  discon- 

*  "When  the  student  has  passed  a  certain  time  among  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  country,  in  a  rural  parish,  as  a  vicar,  and  has  learned 
what  is  the  gustum  pleheium  et  popularem,  (in  what  way  the  people 
look  at  religion,)  it  will  be  well  for  him  to  return  for  some  time  to 
the  woi'k  of  regaining  his  theology,  and  reviewing  it  with  greater  ap- 
plication."— Bengel. 


INDIVIDUAL    AND    INTERIOR    LIFE.  159 

tinue  their  studies.  A  faithful  pastor  will  always  keep  up  a 
certain  amount  of  study :  while  he  reads  the  Bible,  he  will 
not  cease  also  from  reading  the  great  book  of  humanity  which 
is  opened  before  him ;  but  this  empirical  study  will  not  suffice. 
Without  incessant  study,  a  preacher  may  make  sermons,  and 
even  good  sermons,  but  they  will  all  resemble  one  another, 
and  that  increasingly  as  ho  continues  the  experiment.  A 
preacher,  on  the  other  hand,  who  keeps  up  in  his  mind  a 
constant  flow  of  substantial  ideas,  who  fortifies  and  nourishes 
his  mind  by  various  reading,  will  be  always  interesting.  He 
who  is  governed  by  one  pervading  idea  and  purpose,  will  find 
in  all  books,  oven  in  those  which  arc  not  directly  connected 
with  the  ministry,  something  that  he  may  adapt  to  his  special 
aim. 

3.  The  apostles  have  recommended  science,  or  knowledge, 
(2  Pet.  i.  5,  6,)  it  does  not  much  matter  which;  for  if  they 
say  that  ''knowledge  puffeth  up,  but  charity  edifieth,"  (1  Cor. 
viii.  1,)  they  speak  of  an  inevitable  danger  that  belongs  to  all 
science,  unless  it  is  counterbalanced  by  Christian  humility. 
Science  may  even  threaten  humility  ;  but  this  is  the  case  with 
all  developments  of  human  existence;  and  unless  wc  are 
disposed  at  once  to  pass  an  agrarian  law  for  learning  as  well 
as  for  lands,  [we  must  not  think  of  proscribing  the  culture 
of  human  faculties,  and  the  development  of  the  human  mind.] 
If  it  be  said  that  the  apostles  had  not  in  their  view  science 
as  it  would  actually  be  developed,  but  only  so  much  as  was 
open  to  their  observation,  and  that  they  have  sanctioned  it 
without  knowing  and  foreseeing  its  results,  we  reply,  that 
neither  we  nor  they  are  responsible  for  the  fact  that  science 
is  composed  of  so  many  elements,  neither  we  nor  they  can 
reduce  the  number ;  this  is  a  fact  belonging  to  the  times  and 
events  under  which  wc  live,  even  to  the  adversaries  of  our 
religion  ;  friends  and  foes  have  alike  promoted  it ;  and  it  is 


160  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

sufficient  for  the  justification  of  science  as  it  now  exists,  that 
knowledge  has  been  recommended.  If  we  now  know  more 
than  was  known  by  those  living  in  the  apostolic  age,  we  have 
not  more  science  than  they,  for  our  science  is  no  other  thing 
than  an  answer  to  the  questions  which  have  multiplied  since 
their  time. 

The  study  which  we  would  recommend  is  exclusively  that 
of  theology.  But  what  is  theology  but  a  point  of  view — the 
religious  point  of  view — a  ground  of  observation,  from  which 
science,  and  all  things  that  stand  in  any  relation  to  religion, 
can  be  observed  ?  And  if  a  knowledge  of  the  attendant  cir- 
cumstances and  relations  of  a  thing  is  essential  to  a  know- 
ledge of  the  thing  itself,  what  is  there  that  a  theologian  may 
ignore  ?  What  an  incomplete,  false,  narrow  view  of  man  and 
of  human  life  will  the  theologian  have,  if  his  knowledge  is 
confined  to  theology  in  the  restricted  sense  of  the  word  !  The 
simplest,  the  least  learned  of  ministers,  must  necessarily,  in 
order  to  fulfil  his  ministry  efficiently,  often  look  around  him ; 
he  also  has  a  kind  of  science,  superior,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
the  pure  sciences  of  the  books,  and,  on  the  other,  to  that 
ignorant  exegetical  habit,  that  legalized  chicanery  of  literal- 
ism, which  has  no  respect  either  for  common  sense  or  for 
experience,  and  which  frenzies  itself  about  chimeras.  Every 
thing  becomes  religious  to  the  Christian,  every  thing  theologic 
to  the  theologian ;  every  thing  is  either  an  illustration,  an 
application,  or  a  proof  of  truth.  Study  has  a  very  immediate 
practical  importance.  There  is  no  development  of  the  hu- 
man mind  which  may  not  be  either  an  aid  or  a  hindrance  to 
religion.  Nothing  is  indifferent ;  every  thing  either  serves 
or  injures.  And  the  most  scientific  doctrines,  the  most 
abstract  systems,  after  a  certain  time,  descend  to  the  masses. 

We  have  seen  how,  without  study,  profundity  of  thought 
is  quickly  exhausted :  it  is  with  the  mind  as  is  the  case  also 


INDIVIDUATi    AND    INTERIOR    LIFE.  161 

in  the  earth — fruitfulness  is  produced  only  by  a  variety  or 
alternatiou  of  culture.* 

*  M.  Vinet  has  added  in  the  margin,  "...  as  preachiug  is  pro- 
fited by  our  reading;"  this  is  the  complement  to  the  idea  of  the  text. 
Tlie  last  two  paragraphs  were  somewhat  developed  in  their  delivery 
as  lectures,  and  we  think  it  right  to  present  them  as  they  stand  in 
the  note-books  of  the  students : 

[It  will,  perhaps,  be  thought  that  the  minister  has  quite  enough  to 
oocupj'  him  in  theology,  and  that  the  time  for  him  to  attend  to  secular 
studies  has  passed.  Let  us  remark,  first  of  all,  that  secular  is  an  in- 
jurious term  when  it  is  wrongly  applied — when  applied  to  subjects 
to  which  no  blame  is  attached.  For  those  with  whom  religion  does 
not  exist,  there  are  in  fact  two  spheres,  the  religious  and  the  secular 
sphere ;  but,  for  the  Christian,  nothing  is  secular,  every  thing  is  sub- 
servient to  holiness.  Let  us,  however,  accept  the  word,  and  apply 
it  to  sciences  which  have  no  necessary  relation  to  religion.  What, 
then,  does  the  word  theology  signify  ?  It  has,  in  the  first  place,  a 
special  sense,  according  to  which  theology  is  to  be  distinguished  from 
philosophy,  literature,  art,  etc.  The  distinction  is  doubtless  useful, 
but  after  we  have  carefully  defined  the  boundaries  of  theology,  wo 
must  not  then  assume  that  it  excludes  the  other  sciences.  It  in- 
cludes a  large  number  of  secular  elements,  philosophy,  history,  chro- 
nology, grammar,  etc.  If  all  its  scientific  elements  arc  placed  aside, 
only  the  communion  of  the  faithful  remains  to  religion.  It  is  import- 
ant, therefore,  to  study  all  that  which,  when  joined  to  religion,  con- 
stitutes theology  ;  no  absolute  and  impassable  limits  must  be  placed. 
In  a  more  extended  sense  we  may  say  that  theology  attracts  all  to 
itself,  that  it  brings  all  sciences  in  subordination  to  itself,  and  re- 
ceives from  them  their  tribute.  And,  without  discu.ssing  the  meaning 
of  the  term  throlog;/,  consider  that  there  is  no  development  of  the  hu- 
man mind  which  may  not  serve  or  injure  religion.  As  it  leads  to  all 
things,  so  all  things  lead  to  it.  It  must  embrace  all  life,  unless  it  would 
be  banished  from  all.  This  is  true  to-day  more  than  it  ever  was  before. 
Our  epoch,  in  spite  of  its  disordered  appearance,  is  yet  a  period  of 
organization.  Piety  alone  can  organize  the  world,  and,  in  order  to 
organize  it,  it  must  be  acquainted  with  it.  Looking  at  theology  in 
this  light,  preaching,  both  that  of  the  pulpit  and  that  of  books,  must 
submit  to  some  modifications.  The  minister  ought  to  know  many 
6 


162  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

Positions,  laowever,  vary  considerably,  and  either  demand 
or  permit  more  or  less  study.  [Doubtless,  there  will  be  a 
very  great  difference  between  the  town  and  the  country  pas- 
tor. But  we  should  be  mistaken  in  supposing  that  the  latter 
can  dispense  with  study,  and  we  might  even  say  that  it  is  so 
much  the  more  necessary  for  him  because  of  the  isolation  in 
which  he  lives.  We  have  spoken  generally;  we  have  shown] 
what  may  be  expected  of  an  ecclesiastic  in  an  ordinary  and 
quiet  position.  He  ought  to  apply  himself  to  a  regular,  me- 
thodical, special  course  of  study;  he  ought  to  cultivate 
science  freely,  with  candor,  with  a  true  spirit  of  inquiry. 
[Doubtless  the  minister  is  not  ordinarily  required  to  search 
into  the  very  foundations  of  his  faith,  but  even  this  necessity 
may  arise,  as  is  proved  by  the  example  of  Kichard  Baxter, 
who,  having  found  himself  to  be  without  solid  beliefs,  re- 
constructed his  historical  belief  by  vigorous  study.] 

To  complete  what  we  have  to  say  on  the  individual  life  of 
the  pastor,  let  us  add  that  he  ought  to  make  a  plan  for  his 
life,  draw  up  certain  rules,  not  allow  himself  to  be  carried 
along  without  any  resistance  by  the  passing  hours,  and  by 
the  ebb  and  flow  of  circumstance.  Doubtless,  no  man,  iu 
one  sense,  is  less  master  of  his  own  life  than  he  is ;  neverthe- 
less, he  will  gain  something  both  for  his  own  soul  and  for  his 
ministry,  by  introducing  into  his  life  as  much  regularity  as  it. 


things,  not  that  he  may  perplex  himself  with  them,  but  that  he  may 
make  use  of  them  in  view  of  their  relation  to  the  one  thing  needful. 
The  deeper  we  can  dive  into  human  thought,  the  more  shall  we  be 
able  to  "bring  into  captivity  every  thought  to  the  obedience  of 
Christ."  2  Cor.  x.  5.  Every  great  awakening  to  new  life  has  been 
served  by  science.  The  Reformers  were  among  the  most  learned 
men  of  their  epoch  :  those  of  slender  acquirements  have  never  suc- 
ceeded in  any  respect.] — Ed. 


INDIVIDUAL    AND     INTERIOR    LIFE.  163 

will  admit  of — always,  however,  being  ready  to  sacrifice  regu- 
larity to  charity.* 

Economy  of  time  is  a  secret  which  should  be  known  to  no 
one  better  than  to  the  minister,  since  no  one  ought  so  much 
to  respect  time,  which  is  a  part  of  eternity,  as  he.  We  may 
lose  much  time  without  gaining  a  proportionate  amount  of 
repose.  We  may  gain  both  time  and  rest  by  making  nothing 
superfluous,  by  not  burdening  our  necessary  business  with 
superfluous  engagements,  and  by  a  judicious  combination  of 
diff"ercnt  occupations  one  with  another.  We  may  gain  time 
and  rest  by  knowing  how  to  guard  our  time  against  impor- 
tunity and  indiscretion,  which  is  a  most  difl&cult  thing  to 
accomplish  when  regarded  from  a  worldly  point  of  view,  but 
becomes  a  thing  of  comparative  ease  when  it  is  regarded 
from  the  standpoint  of  religious  duty."}" 

We  know  not  how,  in  this  reference,  we  can  too  strongly 


*  Daguet  mentions  a  bishop  who,  when  some  person  was  about  <o 
interrupt  him  at  a  time  when  he  had  reserved  several  hours  for  him- 
self, dismissed  the  intruder  with  these  words,  "Sufficient  unto  the 
day  is  the  evil  thereof." — Treatise  on  the  Duties  of  a  Bishop,  Art.  ii., 
§90. 

•}■  An  aged  American  minister  states  that,  in  the  early  part  of  his 
ministry,  being  in  London,  he  called  on  the  late  Rev.  Matthew  Wilks. 
Mr.  Wilks  received  him  with  cordiality.  After  some  minutes,  when 
they  had  mutually  communicated  the  most  important  religious  in- 
formation that  they  knew,  the  conversation  flagged.  Mr.  Wilks  broke 
the  silence  by  saying,  "Have  you  any  thing  else  to  communicate  to 
me  ?"  "  No,  nothing  of  any  special  interest."  •'  Have  you  any  other 
inquiries  to  make  of  me  ?"  "  None."  "  In  that  case,  it  will  be  well 
for  us  to  separate;  I  must  be  about  my  Master's  business:  good 
morning,  sir."  I  received  thus,  pursues  the  pastor,  a  lesson  on  the 
improprictj'  of  wasting  the  hours  of  an}'  man,  and  the  firmness  with 
which  all  such  dangers  should  be  resisted. — See  Anecdotes  on  Chris- 
tian Ministers,  p.  70. 


164  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

recommend  to  tlie  minister  the  habit  of  early  rising.  [The 
hour  of  dawn  is  the  golden  hour.  Later  in  the  day  a  crowd 
of  ideas  relating  to  things  external  and  internal  make  a  noisy 
confusion  in  his  mind.  At  the  hour  of  dawn  nothing  has 
preceded  our  freshest  feelings,  and  nothing  can  embarrass 
them.]  Without  taking  into  account  the  fact  that  the  min- 
ister can,  less  than  any  one  else,  call  the  day  his  own,  he 
ought,  more  than  any  one  else,  to  appreciate  the  advantage 
of  this  habit.  It  was  the  habit  of  the  royal  prophet,  who 
said,  ''  In  the  morning  will  I  direct  my  prayer  unto  thee." 
Psalm  V.  3.  "I  have  prevented  the  dawning  of  the  morn- 
ing." Psalm  cxix.  147.  Who  can  speak  thus  more  appro- 
priately than  the  minister  ?  However,  this  is  a  victory  over 
sense ;  and  the  minister,  whatever  may  be  his  position  and 
his  prospects,  ought  so  to  act  as  if  he  were  preparing  for  a 
career  of  privations  and  fatigues :  he,  of  all  men,  ought  to 
be  ^'  poor  in  spirit,"  and  to  die  unto  himself  every  day.* 

[This  brings  us  to  consider  the  subject  of  Asceticism. ^ 
"Bodily  exercise  profiteth  little,"  says  St.  Paul.  1  Tim, 
iv.  8.  He  speaks  elsewhere  of  human  ordinances,  "  Which 
indeed  have  a  show  of  wisdom  in  will-worship,  and  humility, 
and  neglecting  (not  sparing)  the  body ;  not  in  any  honor  to 
the  satisfying  of  the  flesh."     Col.  ii.  23. 

St.  Paul  was  opposing  corporeal  exercises  when  separated 
from  piety,  with  which  he  also  contrasts  them  in  the  verse 
which  we  have  quoted  from  the  first  Epistle  of  Timothy; 
and,  certainly,  such  exercises  are  of  little  profit.  He  finds 
only  a  *'show,"  an  appearance  in  human  ordinances  which 
rest  upon  the  principle  of  self-righteousness  and  the  merit 
of  works.  Here  he  opposes,  once  and  for  all  times,  that  idol 
of  self-righteousness  which  is  continually  reappearing.     But, 

*  See  Bacon's  Prayer.    Appendix,  Note  VII. 


INDIVIDUAL    AND     INTERIOR    LIFE.  165 

on  the  other  hand,  he  desires  his  converts  "  not  to  use  their 
liberty  for  an  occasion  to  the  flesh."  Gal.  v.  13.  He  says 
elsewhere,  "I  keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjec- 
tion ;  lest  that  by  any  means,  when  I  have  preached  to  others, 
I  myself  should  be  a  castaway."  1  Cor.  ix.  27-  He  also 
says,  "  Make  not  provision  for  the  flesh  to  fulfil  the  lusts 
thereof."  Kom.  xiii.  14.  After  reading  these  admonitions 
and  statements,  I  do  not  believe  that  he  has,  when  condemn- 
ing "  bodily  exercise,"  condemned  any  thing  but  legal  prac- 
tices, "  ordinances,"  as  he  has  himself  said ;  I  do  not  think 
he  has  condemned  exercises  which  are  worthy  of  the  name — 
voluntary  exercises.  I  do  not  indeed  find  any  trace  of  fast- 
ing, or  any  such  things,  in  the  history  of  the  apostles ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  why  should  these  exercises  have  been  so 
mentioned,  if  they  were  to  have  no  recognition  of  any  kind; 
why  should  the  desire  be  expressed  that  such  slavery  as  had 
been  abolished  should  now  be  allowed  to  take  the  place  of 
the  liberty  which  had  been  granted  to  Christians  ?  If  they 
did  practice  these  exercises,  they  would  do  so  in  secret,  for 
they  would  have  thought  themselves  bound  to  conform  to  the 
rule  of  the  Saviour :  "  Thou,  when  thou  fastest,  anoint  thy 
head  and  wash  thy  face ;  that  thou  appear  not  unto  men  to 
fast,  but  unto  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret."  Matt,  vi.  17, 
18.  And,  moreover,  the  life  which  the  apostles  led  was  a 
continual  fast  which  had  no  need  of  being  aggravated ;  they 
had  no  lack  of  bodily  exercise.  It  is,  however,  remarkable 
that  St.  Paul,  who  certainly  did  not  treat  his  own  person 
worse  than  the  other  apostles,  has  said,  "  I  keep  under  my 
body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection."    1  Cor.  ix.  27.* 

*  Cornelius  said,  "Four  days  ago  I  was  fasting  until  this  hour." 
Acts  X.  30.  "...  that  ye  may  give  yourselves  to  fasting  and 
prayer."  1  Cor.  vii.  5.  Fasting  is  always  represented  as  inseparable 
from  prayer;    and  voluntary  fasting  is  sanctioned  by  the  words, 


166  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

I  do  not  believe  that,  in  a  position  whicli  is  externally  tbe 
most  advantageous,  it  would  be  either  forbidden  or  useless  for 
a  man  to  treat  sternly  his  body,  and  to  impose  upon  himself, 
from  time  to  time,  certain  privations  which  are  not  involved 
in  his  ordinary  condition.  Besides,  it  is  good  to  break 
through  our  habits.  We  know  not  what  self-denial  we  may 
be  called  upon  to  endure.  As  to  our  permission  to  do  it,  I 
find  that  our  Lord  fasted.  Luke  iv.  2.  I  find  also,  from 
several  of  his  sayings,  that  he  assumes  the  legitimacy  of  fast- 
ing, forbidding  only  publicity  and  ostentation,  as  is  proved 
by  the  passage  already  quoted.  Matt.  vi.  17,  18 ;  and  by  that 
other  assertion,  "When  the  bridegroom  shall  be  taken  away 
from  them,  then  shall  they  fast,"  Matt.  ix.  15 ;  which  pre- 
sents fasting  under  another  aspect,  that  of  a  symbol  or  a 
memorial.  Jesus  Christ  has  not  recommended  the  Sabbath 
any  more  than  he  has  recommended  fasting;  he  assumes 
both.  The  utility  of  these  exercises  would  be  too  much 
counterbalanced  by  disadvantages,  would  be  absorbed  by  the 
sentiment  of  self-righteousness,  if  it  was  allowed  any  place 
in  our  exercises ;  but  can  we  not  separate  the  use  from  the 
abuse  which  corrupts  it  ?  We  can  oppose  to  these  practices 
nothing  but  the  idea  of  Christian  liberty;  but  how  shall 
liberty  be  compromised  by  an  action  which  is  itself  entirely 
free?  And  if  there  is  in  fasting  a  deceptive  appearance  of 
humility,  may  there  not  be  in  the  entire  suppression  of  fast- 
ing an  equally  deceptive  appearance  of  freedom  ? 

We  are  now  accustomed  only  to  look  at  these  things  through 
the  medium  of  the  abuses  which  have  been  introduced  by 
the  Romish  Church ;  but  is  this  the  only  mode  of  regarding 
them  ?  I  admit  that  Massillon,  in  his  sermon  on  fasting, 
presents  this  practice,  and  recommends  it  in  exactly  that 


"  This  kind  (of  demon)  goeth  not  out  but  by  prayer  and  fasting." 
Matt.  xvii.  21,     We  too  have  demons  to  cast  out. 


INDIVIDUAL    AND    INTERIOR    LIFE.  167 

sense  in  which  St.  Paul  condemns  it.  [We  must  avoid  too 
special  regulations  which  arc  subversive  of  liberty;  but 
liberty  has  been  given  to  us,  in  order  that  our  obedience  may 
be  complete.] 

If  it  is  admitted  that  bodily  exercise,  so  far  as  it  is  free 
and  unconstrained,  is  in  general  useful  and  even  necessary 
for  Christians,  it  will  be  superfluous  to  insist  much  on  the 
utility  which  may  result  from  it  to  pastors.  Moreover,  in  no 
case  is  the  infliction  of  suff'ering  to  be  recommended,  but 
only  abstinence  from  permitted  enjoyments,  even  those  pri- 
mary enjoyments,  the  habitual  privation  of  which  would 
constitute  suffering,  and  be  incompatible  with  our  continued 
existence. 

[We  must  recognize,  in  a  general  way,  that  the  body  may 
be  a  clog  upon  the  spirit,  that  by  it  we  are  related  and  belong 
to  inert  matter,  that  it  is  a  weight  from  which  we  must  be 
freed  in  order  to  save  the  vessel  of  our  highest  being.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  must  recollect  that  the  body  is  a  slave 
which  desires  to  be  master.  The  Christian  ought  to  use  it 
sternly.  But  no  intermitting  fast  is  enough ;  what  is  re- 
quired is  a  continual  fast,  practiced  every  day,  continued 
throughout  life.]  True  fivsting,  true  askesis,  ought  to  apply  to 
the  desires  of  the  soul,  as  well  as  to  the  appetites  of  the 
body :  curiosity,  ambition,  external  activity,  desire  for  influ- 
ence, thirst  for  rule,  all  these  appetites,  all  the.se  allurements 
which  tend  to  make  us  diverge  from  our  true  path,  that  is 
to  say,  really  to  change  the  direction  of  our  life — all  these 
are  very  strong,  and  very  difficult  to  conquer.  Only  love 
and  a  holy  enthusiasm  for  our  calling  can  carry  us  to  the  end 
of  such  a  career. 


168  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 


.  SECOND    PART. 

RELATIVE     OR     SOCIAL     LIFE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

SOCIAL    LIFE    IN    GENERAL. 

We  are  no  longer  to  speak  of  the  pastoral  life  directly  and 
immediately ;  we  are  now  to  look  at  its  relations  to  society  in 
general,  but  always  regarded  from  the  point  of  view  afforded 
by  the  idea  of  the  ministry,  and  with  a  reference  to  its  inte- 
rests. We  have  not  now  to  speak  of  office,  but  of  duties. 
This  is,  however,  the  beginning  of  the  ministry ;  it  is  one 
of  its  boundaries.  The  pastoral  stamp  may  show  itself  in 
general  relations.  If  it  is  not  necessary  that  his  conduct  as 
a  pastor  should,  in  general  relations,  announce  him  to  be 
such,  yet  it  is  necessary  that  he  should  correspond  to  this 
character ;  so  that,  if  he  is  not  recognized  as  a  pastor,  no  one 
will  be  surprised  at  learning  that  he  is  one.  This  should  be 
his  rule  and  limit. 

It  is  important  for  the  minister  to  keep  a  strict  watch  over 
himself  in  his  social  relations.  He  is  the  city  set  upon  a 
hill;  he  is,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  the  representative  of 
Christian  ideas;  and  the  great  majority  of  people  judge  of 
Christianity  by  his  presentation  of  it.*     This,  perhaps,  is  no 

*  "  Men  of  the  world,"  says  Massillon,  "  regard  life  as  the  reality 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  169 

excuse  for  their  neglect  of  Christianity,  but  it  may  involve 
a  heavy  accusation  against  him. 

The  minister  is  the  official  Christian ;  he  is  the  pattern 
man ;  he  is  so  at  all  times :  those,  therefore,  who  will  not  be 
tempted  to  judge  of  Christianity  by  him,  will  judge  him 
himself  by  the  Christianity  which  he  preaches.  [In  truth, 
these  two  things  are  not  alternatives,  they  exist  together. 
Men  judge  us  according  to  Christianity,  and  Christianity 
according  to  us.  They  will  not  believe  themselves  obliged 
cither  to  do  or  to  be  better  than  the  pastor  j  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  will  wish  him  to  be  as  perfect  as  his  doctrine.] 
They  wish,  by  seeing  him  and  hearing  him,  to  learn  the  same 
lessons ;  and  every  one  knows  very  well  what  he  ought  to  be, 
for  every  one  knows  well  what  a  Christian  ought  to  be ;  and 
if  each  should  apply  to  himself  the  rule  which  he  applies  to 
the  pastor,  each  one  would  be  himself  an  example  and  a 
model.  [Most  men,  in  their  expectations  of  their  neighbors, 
present  before  themselves  a  most  complete  system  of  morals, 
and,  in  their  dealings  with  themselves,  are  satisfied  with  a 
code  of  considerable  laxity.  In  the  presence  of  these  two 
dangers  the  pastor  would  be  tempted  to  despair,  did  he  not 
seek  for  strength  from  a  higher  source  than  himself  or  the 
world.  The  world  even  docs  more  than  judge — it  imposes  a 
scheme  of  conduct  for  him.]  Its  assumptions  are  apparently 
contradictory.  It  seems  to  wish  the  pastor  to  be  at  once  per- 
fect and  vulgar.*  But  let  us  be  very  sure  that  it  knows 
what  the  pastor  may  and  ought  to  be.  It  is  difficult  for  the 
minister,  as  a  Christian,  to  be  acceptable  to  every  one.     "  Woe 


and  practical  abatement  of  Christian  thought,  to  which  they  may 
conform  themselves."     See  the  passage  already  quoted,  page  99. 

*  Isa.  XXX.  10:  Matt.  xi.  17:  "  Wc  have  piped  unto  you,  and  ye 
have  not  danced ;  we  have  mourned  unto  you,  and  ye  have  not  la- 
mented." 


170  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

unto  you  when  all  men  shall  speak  well  of  you."  Luke  xi.  26. 
But  it  is  possible  for  him  to  render  himself  "approved" 
before  every  one.  Like  St.  Paul,  he  may  say  to  the  world, 
"  We  are  made  manifest  unto  God,  and  I  trust  also  are  made 
manifest  in  your  conscience."  2  Cor.  v.  11.  In  one  sense 
he  must  seek  for  this  approbation ;  "  he  must,"  says  St.  Paul, 
"have  a  good  report  of  them  which  are  without,"  1  Tim.  iii. 
7 ;  and  undoubtedly  he  must  much  more  "  have  a  good  re- 
port of  them  which  are"  within  the  Church.  Thus,  then,  the 
approbation  of  the  world,  for  all  that  about  which  the  world 
can  judge,  is  a  thing  which  he  must  seek,  and  which  it  is 
quite  possible  for  him  to  obtain. 

It  is  at  once  useful  and  encouraging  to  keep  this  in  mind, 
although  the  pastor's  supreme  aim  and  rule  should  be  "  to 
show  himself  approved  unto  God,"  2  Tim.  ii.  15;  and  he 
should  be  ready  to  say  to  the  world,  when  it  condemns  us 
concerning  that  which  it  does  not  understand,  "  with  me  it  is 
a  very  small  thing  that  I  should  be  judged  of  you  or  of 
man's  judgment."  1  Cor.  iv.  3.  "  If  I  yet  pleased  men,  I 
should  not  be  the  servant  of  Christ."  Gal.  i.  10.  [If  un- 
flinching consistency  is  honored  even  when  it  is  applied  to 
things  evil,  with  how  much  greater  reason  will  it  be  honored 
when  on  the  side  of  God  !]  The  condemnation  of  the  world 
for  our  acts  of  fidelity  is  never  a  disgrace — will  never  expose 
us  to  a  loss  of  respect — there  is  glory  in  this  shame ;  while 
all  worldly  compliance  and  concession  enfeebles  our  ministry 
in  every  respect,  and  brings  us  into  disrepute. 

Let  us  now  enumerate  the  principal  features  which  the 
conduct  of  the  minister  ought  to  present  in  his  general  re- 
lations to  society. 

§  I. — GRAVITY. 

This  quality  forms  an  element  in  relative  life.  "A  bishop 
must  be  blameless,  vigilant,  sober,  of  good  behavior."    1  Tim. 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  171 

iii.  2.  This  is  one  of  the  first  qualities  spoken  of  by  St. 
Paul,  it  is  the  first  which  is  spoken  of  by  the  world. 

Our  (French)  translators  employ  the  words  grave  and 
gravite  in  rendering  the  words. 

KofTjWfOf,  (1  Tim.  iii,  2,)  translated  by  Luther,  sittig ;  by 
De  Wette,  anstdndig;  and  by  the  English  translators,  of  good 
behavior. 

IiEfivog,  (1  Tim.  iii.  11,  speaking  of  the  pastor's  wife,) 
translated  by  Luther  and  De  Wette,  ehrhar;  by  the  English 
translators,  grave. 

lefivdTTjg,  (Titus  ii.  7,)  translated  by  Luther,  ehrharkeit; 
by  De  Wette,  wilrde;  and  by  the  English  translators,  gravity. 

Gravity  (from  the  word  gravis)  is  the  more  or  less  con- 
siderable weight  with  which  an  interest,  a  thought,  an  evil, 
presses  upon  the  mind.  In  external  life,  and  in  manners,  it 
is  all  that  which  announces  that  a  man  bears  the  weight  of  a 
great  thought,  or  of  a  great  responsibility.  The  minister  is 
the  depositary  of  so  great  a  thought,  and  so  great  an  interest, 
that  gravity  is  but  the  decent  and  becoming  exterior  of  his 
position.  We  might  define  it  as  the  impression  which  the 
minister  carries  of  the  respect  with  which  he  regards  the 
object  of  his  mission. 

It  is  clear  that  external  gravity  is  only  true  and  commend- 
able as  it  corresponds  to  an  internal  gravity,  which  is  a  feeling 
of  the  weighty  responsibility  with  which  we  are  charged. 
Gravity  is  not  "  a  mysteriousness  of  body  assumed  to  conceal 
feebleness  of  mind."* 

Nothing  is  more  opposite  to  gravity  than  the  affectation  of 
it.  "A  too  studied  gravity,"  says  La  Bruy^re,  "becomes 
ridiculous ;  as  extremes  meet,  so  in  the  medium  alone  is  true 
dignity  to  be  found.  Too  studied  gravity  is  not  rightly 
named  gravity — it  is  to  enact  the  part  of  the  grave  man.    He 

*  La  Rouchefoucauld's  Moral  Reflections,  cclvii. 


172  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

who  aspires  at  becoming  grave  for  the  sake  of  its  imposing 
exterior,  will  never  become  so.  Gravity  does  not  exist  where 
it  is  not  natural ;  and  it  is  less  difficult  to  descend  from  it  than 
to  ascend  to  it."* 

But  still  less  is  it  right  to  affect  the  contrary.  [We  have 
seen  ecclesiastics  who,  in  an  excessive  wish  not  to  intimidate 
by  their  gravity,  have  at  length  compromised  their  position  by 
their  frivolity.  This  is  especially  to  be  found  among  the 
Catholics,  because  the  quality  of  the  priest,  his  habits  and 
his  costume,  contrast  with  those  of  the  world,  and  because 
the  frivolity,  by  which  he  would  desire  to  remove  this  bar- 
rier, brings  it  more  prominently  into  view.]  "  Might  we  not 
give  persons  of  a  certain  character,  and  who  belong  to  a  cer- 
tain serious  profession,  not  to  mention  them  more  particularly, 
to  understand  that  they  are  not  obliged  incessantly  to  pro- 
claim concerning  themselves,  that  they  can  play,  sing,  and 
joke  like  other  men ;  and  that,  to  see  them  so  pleasant  and 
agreeable,  one  would  never  believe  that  they  were,  in  other 
respects,  so  regular  and  severe  ?  Might  we  even  venture  to 
hint  to  them  that,  by  these  manners,  they  alienate  themselves 
from  the  politeness  upon  which  they  pride  themselves ;  that 
true  politeness  always  adapts  and  conforms  exterior  behavior 
to  actual  condition,  that  it  avoids  startling  contrasts,  that  it 
does  not  aim  at  showing  the  same  man  in  different  disguises, 
which  transform  him  into  a  grotesque  or  fantastic  compo- 
site ?"t 

G-ravity  is  shown  generally  in  manners,  and  more  specially 
in  discourse. 

Under  the  general  idea  of  manners  are  included  society,  re- 
creations, occupations,  and  costume. 

As  to  society  :  a  minister  undoubtedly  must  not  limit  his 

*  La  Bruy^re's  Characters.     The  chapter  on  Judgments, 
flbid 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  173 

intercourse  to  one  kind  of  persons,  lest  he  should  counten- 
ance the  mischievous  idea  that  the  minister  is  not,  as  such,  a 
man  j  but  he  must,  with  even  greater  care,  guard  against 
being  seen  everywhere.  The  pastor  is  a  sociable  man,  but 
not  a  man  of  society,  still  less  a  man  of  the  world.  He  should 
be  retiring  except  when  called  out  by  charity,  for  the  sake  of 
which  he  may  and  should  be  approachable  by  all.  [A  man 
who  is  seen  everywhere  cannot  inspire  a  respectful  consider- 
ation. The  judgment  which  is  formed  concerning  a  pastor 
who  is  seen  in  all  companies  is  not  likely  to  be  very  favor- 
able. He  will  be  accused  of  not  feeling  his  duties,  and  not 
appreciating  the  necessity  of  solitude.  Society  multiplies 
occasions  for  doing  good,  but  still  more  docs  it  multiply 
temptations  to  do  evil.]  And  there  are  some  men  whom  the 
pastor  ought  not  to  see  either  at  his  own  house  or  elsewhere. 
St.  Paul  counsels  Timothy  to  turn  away  from  all  men  whose 
life  is  evil,  and  especially  from  those  who  have  the  appear- 
ance of  that  piety,  the  power  of  which  they  have  denied.  2 
Tim.  iii.  5. 

[The  minister  ought,  more  carefully  than  any  one  else,  to 
choose  the  relationships  which  he  forms.  Others  will  criti- 
cize carefully,  and  consequently  severely,  unless  he  has  before 
criticized  himself]  He  must  be  careful  not  only  because  he 
has  external  proprieties  to  preserve  and  attend  to,  but  because 
there  is  a  real  danger  which  he  must  avoid.  The  minister 
may  apply  to  himself  as  well  as  to  others  the  maxim,  "  Bo 
not  deceived :  evil  communications  corrupt  good  manners." 
1  Cor.  XV.  3.S.  "  Strangers  have  devoured  his  strength,  and 
he  knoweth  it  not :  yea,  gray  hairs  are  here  and  there  upon 
him,  yet  he  knoweth  it  not."  Hosea  vii.  9  :  and  that  pro- 
verb, "  He  who  loves  danger  will  perish  in  danger." 

How  can  he  seek  for  evil  society  when  good  society  is  so 
necessary  for  him,  and  when  he  cannot  too  strongly  entrench 
and  fortify  himself  by  the  help  of  those  who  love  God  ? 


174  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

Massillon  would  wisli  the  priest  to  associate  only  with 
priests.  '^  Suffer  me,"  says  he,  "here  to  ask  you  what  St. 
Paul  once  asked  reproachfully  of  some  of  his  disciples  who, 
instead  of  appealing  to  their  brethren  to  settle  their  disputes, 
addressed  themselves  to  heathen  judges  :  Sic  non  est  inter 
vos  sapiens  quisquam  ?  What !  Can  you  not  find  among 
your  brethren  wise  and  amiable  ministers  who  can  refresh 
themselves  with  you  from  the  seriousness  of  your  occupa- 
tions ?  Sic  non  est  inter  vos  sapiens  quisquam  ?  Is  it  pos- 
sible that  in  the  midst  of  so  many  ecclesiastics  belonging  to  a 
society  which  is  pleasant,  edifying,  and  honorable  to  you,  you 
need  to  call  in  the  world  to  your  assistance,  and  to  seek  for 
relaxation  where  you  ought  to  carry  only  your  duties  and  your 
labors  ?"*  [It  would,  however,  be  an  exaggeration  for  a  min- 
ister to  abide  rigorously  by  such  a  rule.]  We  must  not 
countenance  the  mischievous  idea  that  the  minister  is  not  a 
man,  nor  deprive  him  of  that  which  society  may  give  and 
teach  him. 

However,  the  pastor  has  a  family,  a  domestic  interior 
which  can,  if  need  be,  supply  to  him  the  place  of  a  more 
varied  society.  [Former  relationships,  contracted  under  evil 
auspices,  are  often  very  embarrassing.  We  must  not,  how- 
ever, despise  the  past  and  break  through  these  relationships. 
All  is  under  providential  oversight.  God  can  avail  himself 
of  the  one  to  bless  the  other.  If  it  is  impossible  to  preserve 
them,  they  must  be  dissolved,  but  not  with  violent  denunci- 
ation of  them.  As  to  blood  relationships,  they  must  neither 
be  broken  nor  discarded,  but  sanctified.  The  family  is  the 
pastor's  first  parish.] 

Recreation  or  relaxation.  It  is  difficult  to  give  very  pre- 
cise rules  on  these  points.  When  I  have  said  that  the  min- 
ister, as  well  as  any  other  man,  needs  recreation — that,  how- 

*  Massillon's  Discourse  on  the  Manner  in  which  Ecclesiastics  ought 
to  Converse  with  Men  of  the  World.     First  Reflection. 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  175 

ever,  there  are  recreations  which,  although  they  cause  no 
oflfencc  when  indulged  in  by  other  believers,  may,  when 
indulged  in  by  the  minister,  hurt  the  conscience  of  the  feeble; 
that  all  that  is  permitted  does  not  edify,  and  that  the  minister 
of  Jesus  Christ  ought  always  to  edify;  lastly,  that  up  to  a 
certain  point,  propriety  varies  with  locality,  I  shall  have  said 
all :  the  rest  must  be  left  to  common  sense.  Only  I  would 
remind  young  candidates  of  the  words  of  the  apostle,  "  Let 
^no  man  despise  thy  youth."  1  Tim.  iv.  12.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  form  it  assumes,  it  is  still  a  precept.  And  the  apos- 
tle also  says  to  Timothy,  "  Flee  youthful  lusts."  2  Tim.  ii. 
22.  This  is  the  only  means  by  which  he  may  assure  his 
youth  against  being  despised.  And  we  may  readily  conceive 
that  restrictions  are  to  be  more  numerous  in  the  season  of 
youth  than  in  later  life.  [He  must  be  careful  not  to  tend  too 
much  in  the  direction  towards  which  his  inclinations  are 
strongest.  There  are  amusements  which  he  must  altogether 
renounce,  such  as  the  chase,  games  of  chance,  the  theatre, 
music  under  a  certain  form,  and,  generall}'^,  a  passionate  de- 
votion to  any  art.  None  of  these  things  can  be  proper  for  a 
minister;  the  effect  of  them  upon  himself  will  not  be  good, 
and  they  will  expose  him  to  the  blame  of  others.] 

He  ought  also  to  avoid  being  seen  unnecessarily  in  places 
of  public  diversion,  even  those  which  are  reputable ;  we  can- 
not tell  what  company  may  be  found  there,  nor  what  trans- 
actions may  be  carried  on  there.  [It  is  well  for  the  minister 
when  he  can  take  to  himself  the  maxim,  "  It  is  better  to  go 
to  the  house  of  mourning  than  to  go  to  the  house  of  feasting ; 
for  that  is  the  end  of  all  men,  and  the  living  will  lay  it  to 
his  heart."     Eccl.  vii.  2.] 

Wc  would  not  convey  the  impression  that  all  these  absti- 
nences can  render  him  who  imposes  them  upon  himself  holy. 
The  man  who  docs  not  impose  any  of  them  upon  himself, 
although  he  is  wrong  in  this  respect,  may  possibly  be  more 


176  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

holy  than  the  man  who  does  not  omit  one  of  them.  We  may 
"  strain  at  a  gnat  and  swallow  a  camel."     Matt,  xxiii.  24. 

As  to  occupations,  we  do  not  as  yet  say  that  the  minister 
ought,  according  to  the  apostolic  precept,  (1  Tim.  iv.  15,)  to 
''  give  himself  wholly"  to  these  things,  that  is,  to  the  things 
of  his  ministry,  and  to  be  always  occupied  with  them ;  we 
shall  ultimately  be  able  to  apply  this  maxim.  But,  relative 
to  gravity,  and  supposing  that  the  pastor  has  more  leisure 
than  he  is  allowed  to  have,  we  say  that  every  occupation  does 
not  harmonize  with  the  gravity  that  belongs  to  the  minister. 
I  should  not  approve  of  agricultural  and  industrial  pursuits. 
Let  the  minister,  if  he  has  property,  take  due  care  of  it,  but 
only  attend  to  this  kind  of  occupation  as  far  as  it  is  neces- 
sary. The  mere  reputation  of  ability  in  such  pursuits  will 
injure  him. 

Costume,  or  rather  dress,  (for  we  do  not  now  speak  of  official 
costume,  or  of  the  ministerial  insignia  in  public  duties,)  cos- 
tume has  a  double  object,  referring  both  to  the  wearer  and  to 
the  observer  of  it. 

The  importance  of  this  distinctive  dress  varies  with  the 
times.  Our  own  time,  which  is  but  little  friendly  to  meta- 
phors in  social  life,  or  is  perhaps  in  search  of  other  symbols, 
seems  disposed  by  degrees  to  abolish  the  ministerial  costume. 
But  no  one  ought  to  be  too  precipitate  in  setting  such  an  ex- 
ample. (This  is  somewhat  like  innovations  in  language ;  for 
costume  is  itself  a  language.)  In  all  cases  it  must  be  freely 
accepted.  This  rule  will  always  remain,  that  the  dress  of  the 
minister,  if  it  is  not  one  that  is  restricted  to  the  ministry, 
ought  to  possess  a  uniform  and  unvarying  character,  while 
men  of  other  professions  may  vary  their  dress. 

It  would  be  better  to  wear  no  special  costume  at  all,  rather 
than  to  disavow  it  in  some  sort  by  negligence  and  impropriety.* 

*  Propriety,  a  semi-virtue,  which  may  be  the  centre  for  many  true 
and  complete  virtues. 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  177 

Gravity  of  discourse. — The  first  rule  is,  to  speak  little ;  a 
second  rule  is,  to  joke  seldom  ;*  a  third  is,  to  discuss  mode- 
rately and  within  reasonable  limits ;  a  fourth  is,  not  to  use 
too  strong  language,  and  too  vehement  utterance.  "  He 
shall  not  cry,  nor  lift  up,  nor  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  in 
the  street."  Isaiah  xlii.  2.  Calmness  is  impressive.  Peace 
is  a  quiet  flash  as  of  lightning,  yet  strong  as  the  thunderbolt. 
"  The  G  od  of  peace  shall  shortly  bruise  Satan  under  your 
feet."  Rom.  xvi.  20.  I  would  add  as  another  rule,  be  care- 
ful to  speak  rather  of  things  than  of  persons.  I  do  not 
merely  refer  to  slander  as  to  be  avoided,  which  may  be  as- 
sumed, but  whatever  merely  excites  curiosity,  and  approaches 
a  style  of  invidious  comparison.  However,  I  have  no  liking 
for  an  affected  reserve. 

After  such  directions  as  these,  we  must  also  recollect  that 
the  Christian,  and  much  more  the  pastor,  ought  to  speak  ac- 
cording to  the  oracles  of  God  ;  (which  does  not  mean  exclu- 
sively, proclaim  the  oracles  of  God ;)  that  the  word  of  Christ 
ought  to  dwell  in  him  richly,  with  all  wisdom  ;  that  his  words 
ought  to  be  seasoned  with  salt,  and  minister  grace  unto  the 
hearers ;  and  that,  if  every  one  will  be  required  to  give  an 
account  of  the  idle  words  which  he  has  uttered,  this  account 
will  be  still  more  severe  for  the  pastor.  It  is,  perhaps,  right 
to  say  that  ministers,  while  prescribing  for  themselves  a  strict 
kind  of  restraint  when  in  the  world,  have  sometimes  attempted 

*  Eph.  V.  4,  (Ej'rpaTre/lta ;  scurrilitas.)  "  Nugje  in  aliis  sunt.  nugjB, 
in  saccrdotibus  blaspbemiaj." — St.  Bernard's  Treatise  on  Considera- 
tion, III.,  xiii. 

"Bicn  loin  aussi  Ic  I'ire  intemp6rant: 

Du  rire  amer  il  est  pen  different ; 

Folic  gaitd  d^g6n^re  en  satire; 

Tel  qui,  d'abord,  re  riait  que  pour  rire, 

Lance  en  riant  un  trait,  (dard.)  envenimd, 

Et  se  d6robe  a  lui-meme,  6  d^lire  ! 

En  le  per(;ant,  un  coeur  que  I'eut  aim6." 


178  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

to  indemnify  ttemselves  when  in  the  society  of  one  another. 
Ecclesiastical  jocularity  has,  in  certain  countries,  passed  into 
a  proverb.* 

I  should  hope  little  from,  and  think  little  of,  those  speci- 
mens of  ofl&cial  gravity,  in  which  the  individual  pays  little 
respect  to  propriety  and  decorum  where  he  is  intimate — such 
a  decorum  as  cannot  be  dispensed  with  in  even  the  most  inti- 
mate relationships ;  although  I  would  not,  by  any  means,  de- 
prive the  minister  of  the  amenities  of  familiar  discourse, 
where  they  are  appropriate.] 

There  is  no  necessity  of  laying  down  particular  rules  for 
every  special  circumstance;  on  the  contrary,  such  legislation 
is  never  required.  [And  if  gravity  comes  from  within,  it 
will  be  natural.] 

§  II. — SIMPLICITY. — MODESTY. 

Simplicity  is  the  opposite  of  a  rigid  and  consequential 
pomposity ;  (I  would  say  emphasis,  if  this  word  could  be  ap- 
plied to  manners  as  well  as  to  language ;)  faults  which  do 
not  arise  from  excessive  gravity,  but  from  an  inaccurate  sen- 
timent of  our  own  importance  and  authority.  Perhaps  we 
may  trust  that  the  stern  lessons  that  the  world  teaches  will 
correct  these  failings.  The  official  character  of  the  pastor 
becomes  less  imposing  every  day,  although  every  one,  unless 
he  is  exceedingly  ill-bred,  will  be  disposed  to  show  to  the 
pastor  some  marks  of  respect,  even  in  consideration  of  his 
title  alone,  without  too  rigorously  balancing  the  claims  of  his 
office,  and  his  personal  fulfilment  of  them.  External  char- 
acter and  habits — mere  dress — are  things  of  small  weight 


*  "In  no  profession  are  there  so  many  retailers  of  stories  as  in 
the  clergy ;  as  also  there  is  none  vrhich  supplies  so  many  stories  as 
the  clergy." — Harms.  Whence  arises  this  second  circumstance  ?  I 
know  it  to  be  a  fact. 


EELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  179 

when  tliey  are  not  sustained  by  internal  qualities;  there  is 
no  gain  whatever — there  is,  indeed,  a  positive  loss — in  claim- 
ing a  blind  respect,  and  assuming  in  society  a  rank  which  is 
not  freely  granted.  Clerical  assumption  and  formalities  im- 
pose on  but  very  few;  and  I  would  not  recommend  their 
adoption  even  for  these  few.  It  is  unworthy  of  the  minister 
to  employ  such  means — not  to  rely  absolutely  upon  the  truth, 
whose  messenger  he  is,  but  to  appear  to  believe  that  a  mys- 
terious virtue  attaches  to  him.  Catholic  sermons  claim 
respect  for  the  priests,  [which  is  more  intelligible,  because, 
in  this  case,  the  priest  is  the  impersonation  of  religion.] 
All  this,  moreover,  may  be  affirmed  without  any  prejudice 
to  his  authority.     The  minister  has  not  to  apologize  for  truth, 

§  III. — PACIFIC   TEMPER. 

Must  not  the  man  who  is  called  upon  to  be  "a  peace- 
maker" be  himself  a  man  of  peace  ?  (Matt.  v.  9 ;)  who  is 
also  the  minister  of  a  wisdom  which  is  "  first  pure,  then 
peaceable,"  James  iii.  17;  who  is  the  disciple  and  repre- 
sentative of  him  who  was  announced  as  one  who  should  "  not 
cry,  nor  lift  up,  neither  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the 
streets?"  Isaiah  xlii.  2.  Does  he  not  also  know  from  expe- 
rience, and  from  Scripture,  that  "  the  fruit  of  righteousness 
is  sown  in  peace  V  James  iii.  18.  "  If  it  be  possible,  as 
much  as  lieth  in  you,  live  peaceably  with  all  men."  Kom.  xii. 
18. 

It  is  precisely  because  the  ministry  is  a  struggle  that  this 
advice  is  of  so  much  importance.  The  minister  must  not 
forget  that,  as  such,  he  "stretches  forth  his  hands  all  day 
long  to  a  disobedient  and  gainsaying  people,"  Rom.  x.  21; 
that  he  is  called  upon  to  rebuke  sinners,  and,  in  some  cases, 
to  rebuke  them  publicly,  1  Tim.  v.  20 ;  that,  as  a  minister 
and  as  a  Christian,  he  comes  to  an  earth  that  is  torn  by  con- 


180  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

troversies;  that  there  is  no  truth  which,  in  its  historical 
development,  has  not  been  entangled  by  errors;  that  the- 
ology is  almost  as  much  a  discussion  as  an  exposition ;  that 
if  his  convictions  are  serious,  he  has  won  them  after  a  con- 
flict, and  bears  them  as  trophies  of  his  victory,  stained  with 
his  own  blood ;  and,  lastly,  that  he  will  have,  on  more  than 
one  occasion,  to  defend  his  own  rights  as  a  minister. 

St.  Paul  might  naturally  think  of  all  these  things  when  he 
said,  "A  bishop  must  be  blameless,  as  the  steward  of  God ; 
not  self-willed,  not  soon  angry,  not  given  to  wine,  no  striker," 
Titus  i.  7 ;  and,  '■'  The  servant  of  the  Lord  must  not  strive, 
but  be  gentle  unto  all  men,  apt  to  teach,  patient."  2  Tim. 
ii.  24.  And  this  not  only  excludes  legal  strifes,  but  disputes 
in  general,  useless  or  protracted  discussions,  an  unyielding 
and  punctilious  spirit,  love  of  trifles.* 

We  must  not  say  that  ministers  can  be  altogether  free  from 
this  spirit.  The  habit  of  always  living  in  the  midst  of  the 
same  circle  of  ideas,  occupations,  and  persons ;  of  speaking 
without  being  contradicted,  so  much  so  that  the  first  and  the 
least  contradiction  surprises  :  these  things  may  contribute  to 
form  such  a  spirit.  The  world  exaggerates — I  am  glad  I  can 
believe  it — when  it  is  said  that  ministers  are  not  generally 
remarkable  for  the  affability  of  their  manners ;  that  they  are 
impracticable  men,  with  whom  no  one  is  inclined  to  have 
much  intercourse.  But  in  order  to  constrain  men  not  to  say 
this  any  more,  the  minister  must  be  exceedingly  pacific.  It 
is  understood  that  I  am  now  speaking  of  ordinary  occasions 
of  dispute — of  the  ordinary  relations  of  society — and  not  of 
controversies  properly  so  called,  nor  of  that  odium  theologi- 
cum  which  is  thought  to  be  the  best  phrase  for  expressing 
a  climax  of  hatred;  and  there  is  reason  for  so  thinking;  for 


*  Assemblies  wasting  their  time  in  the  discussion  of  small  inte- 
rests. 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  181 

when  men  hate  in  the  name  of  God,  theirs   is    no    half- 
hatred. 

It  is  well  for  the  pastor  that  he  lias  a  struggle  to  carry  on 
within  the  precincts  of  his  own  office — a  struggle  which,  as 
long  as  he  remains  on  earth,  he  cannot  avoid.  He  cannot 
limit  himself,  as  other  believers  can,  to  ''answering  with 
meekness  and  fear,  every  man  that  asketh  him  a  reason,"  .  .  . 
1  Peter  iii.  15.  He  may  accept  the  discussion,  if  he  shall 
be  assured  that  it  will  be  carried  on  seriously,  consecutively, 
"courteously,  and  patiently;  but,  on  the  one  hand,  he  must 
not  "  cast  pearls  before  swine,"  and,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is 
more  usually  called  upon  to  expound  than  to  dispute,  and  he 
must  not  too  readily  leave  the  first  of  these  positions.  [There 
is  a  way  of  retaining  such  ground  :  the  spirit  of  peace  is  in- 
dustrious.] 

§  IV. — MILDNESS. 

"  Let  your  moderation  (smeiKeg,  fairness,  reasonableness, 
moderation,  mildness)  be  known  unto  all  men."  Phil.  iv.  5. 
[There  is  then  something  particularly  important  in  this 
quality,  since  it  is  to  be  obvious  to  the  first  glance.]  We 
shall  speak  more  fully  of  the  charity  of  the  pastor,  when  we 
come  to  consider  his  oflice,  in  which  it  is  most  fully  displayed. 
Here  we  have  only  to  regard  his  mildness,  that  is  to  say,  the 
kind,  easy,  obliging,  prepossessing,  amiable  qualities  which 
lie  brings  into  his  ordinary  relations  with  society.  He  is  the 
man  of  a  loving  God — the  representative  of  mercy.  He 
must  not  repel,  therefore,  but  attract.  But  this  must  flow 
from  a  genuine  source,  it  must  not  be  afi'ectation — he  has  no 
part  to  play,  [for  an  assumed  character  of  this  kind  is  always 
badly  performed,] — his  goodness  is  not  to  be  soft  and  effemi- 
nate, but  strong  and  masculine.  A  little  healthy  roughness 
of  manners  were  better  than  that  benign,  patronizing,  and 
paternal  tone  which  some  have  adopted,  but  which  is  not 


182  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

natural  to  them.  Love  sometimes  has  a  shaggy,  bristling  ex- 
terior— treason  is  sometimes  heralded  by  a  kiss ;  [love  may 
be  disguised  beneath  vehemence  and  indignation.]  But  how 
shall  not  a  rude,  magisterial  air — an  abrupt  and  hasty  tone — 
an  impatient,  testy,  choleric  address — a  haughty  disdain  for 
the  conventions  of  politeness — or  only  an  air  of  languid  in- 
difference, (all  which  things  may  consist  with  some  true 
love) — how  shall  not  all  these  things  injure  the  minister  and 
his  ministry  ? 

§  V. — PRUDENCE. — UPRIGHTNESS. — CANDOR. 

To  ministers  was  the  advice  given,  ''Be  ye  wise  (prudent) 
as  serpents,  and  harmless  as  doves."  Matt.  x.  16.  These 
two  precepts  are  presented  in  the  Gospel  as  two  consequences, 
drawn  from  the  same  fact,  namely,  that  the  apostles  would  be 
in  the  world  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves ;  from  this 
Jesus  Christ  infers  the  double  necessity  of  being  prudent 
and  harmless.  Perhaps,  also,  we  must  understand  that  he 
here  recommends  them  while  prudent  to  be  also  upright  [and 
candid.  The  first  interpretation  is  the  more  literal,  and  the 
second  the  more  natural  of  the  two.  We  may  admit  both. 
Candor  is  necessary  because  prudence  is.  The  minister 
knows  better  than  any  other  what  consequences  may  be  in- 
volved in  a  single  word,  and  for  him  the  consequences  are 
eternal  and  terrible.]  Prudence  is  so  strongly  recommended 
to  the  minister,  that  we  might  think  he  cannot  have  too  much 
of  it.  His  position,  even  in  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances, is  so  difficult  as  to  tempt  him  to  be  prudent  to  ex- 
cess. What  dangers!  Mere  inadvertencies — inconsidera- 
tion,  vivacity — even  accidental  negligence  in  avoiding  the 
appearance  of  evil;  manners  which  repel  or  disgust j  indis- 
cretion in  language;  hastiness  in  judgment;  improperly- 
placed  confidence ;   the  possibility  of  allowing  himself  to  be 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  183 

enticed  into  engaging  in  that  which  has  no  relation  to  him 
and  his  character ;  the  thought  of  how  many  are,  unobserved 
by  him,  unheard  by  him,  fixing  their  eye  upon  him,  ready  to 
detect  every  frailty,  and  to  register  it  in  order  that  they  may 
have  some  defence  against  his  admonitions,  or  rather  that 
they  may  wickedly  attribute  authority  to  him,  in  order,  by 
his  example,  to  harden  themselves  in  iniquity ;  or  who  seek 
to  make  him  contradict  himself,  to  bring  him  into  disrepute 
with  the  world,  with  authorities,  with  those  whose  confidence 
he  enjoys — must  not  such  things  as  these  render  him  not  only 
prudent,  but  distrustful,  retiring,  and  timid  ?  If  he  does 
not  take  all  these  things  into  consideration,  he  risks  much ; 
if  he  broods  over  them  too  much,  he  loses  that  simplicity  of 
character,  that  harmlessness  of  the  dove,  which  is  demanded 
alike  by  his  duty,  his  character,  and  his  first  interests,  (since 
public  confidence  is  his  first  want,)  and  which  indeed  is,  on 
all  occasions,  better  and  safer  than  all  calculation.  Nothing, 
in  fact,  is  so  disconcerting  to  artful  opponents  as  simplicity, 
which  they  can  neither  understand  nor  anticipate.  It  is  im- 
possible to  estimate  the  force  of  these  transparent  characters. 
Designing  shrewdness,  on  the  other  hand — -finesse — inspires  so 
much  distrust,  that  even  the  reputation  of  such  a  description 
of  cleverness  will  injure  rather  than  serve  the  minister.  In 
order  to  disarm  the  world,  and  gain  its  freest  confidence,  we 
must  show  the  greatest  and  most  unsuspecting  candor. 

St.  Paul  was  thoroughly  imbued  with  these  virtues.  More 
than  once  he  protests  that  he  has  not  used  craftiness.  2  Cor. 
iv.  2.  He  glories  in  declaring  that  his  word  does  not  oscillate 
between  yea  and  nay.  2  Cor.  i.  18.  He  dared  to  rebuke  an 
apostle  who  "did  not  walk  uprightly."    Gal.  ii.  14. 

This  stamps  with  condemnation  all  duplicity,  inexactness, 
dissimulation,  a  habit  of  breaking  promises,  or  a  tendency  to 
overlook  engagements,  artifices  and  evasions,  excessive  re- 
serve, insinuated  reproaches  or  complaints,  mysterious  allu- 


184  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

sions,  unjust  distrust,  extravagant  precautions,  diplomatic 
scheming,  [which  is  sometimes  regarded  as  honorable  to  min- 
isters,] etc. 

Nothing  is  more  opposed  to  candor  than  party  spirit,  which 
only  believes  in  itself;  never  condescends  to  fair  discussion ; 
only  listens  in  way  of  form ',  never  confesses  error  or  igno- 
rance; colors,  palliates,  explains  without  end;  is  never  weary 
of  drawing  distinctions,  and  believes  that  the  best  way  of 
being  and  exhibiting  strength  is  never  to  make  the  smallest 
concessions. 

§  VI. — DISINTERESTEDNESS. 

[Disinterestedness  is  undoubtedly  only  one  form  of  a  more 
general  virtue,  namely,  self-denial.  It  is,  however,  necessary 
to  say  something  of  the  renunciation  of  earthly  advantages.] 
Absolute  disinterestedness  would  be  a  complete  indifference 
of  heart  to  temporal  possessions.  This  degree  of  perfection 
is  doubtless  not  sufficiently  sought  for  by  the  great  majority 
of  men,  and  we  cannot  tell  whether  it  has  ever  been  fully 
realized  by  any  one ;  but  it  is  not  less  the  end  towards  which 
we  ought  to  aim ;  and  the  pastor,  to  induce  him  to  make  the 
attempt,  has,  besides  those  general  reasons  which  we  need 
not  now  enumerate,  special  reasons  of  which  we  must  speak. 

1.  The  spirit  of  the  ministry  is  a  spirit  of  devotedness. 
The  minister,  as  such,  has  surrendered  his  life ;  he  has  sac- 
rificed the  greater,  how  shall  he  retain  the  less  ?  For  him 
were  those  words  spoken,  "  No  man  having  put  his  hand  to 
the  plough,  and  looking  back,  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God." 
Luke  ix.  62.  "  Every  man  that  striveth  for  the  mastery  is 
temperate  in  all  things."  1  Cor.  ix.  25.  Devotedness  is  in- 
compatible with  a  love  of  riches.  "  The  hireling  .  .  .  seeth 
the  wolf  coming,  and  leaveth  the  sheep,  and  fleeth."  John 
X.  12. 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  185 

2.  Our  mission,  our  avowed  object,  is  to  raise  those  to 
whom  we  preach  above  the  world.  We  attempt  to  excite  in 
them  an  emulation  for  the  blessedness  of  the  poor  in  spirit, 
(or  of  voluntary  poverty.)  How  shall  we  do  this  with  free- 
dom, with  power,  with  success,  if  we  are  ourselves  attached 
to  those  same  things  from  which  we  seek  to  detach  them  ? 
Shall  we  not,  in  proportion  as  we  preach  indiiferencc  to 
earthly  goods,  increase  our  own  condemnation,  while  we  our- 
selves remain  slavishly  bound  to  the  things  of  time  ?  The 
more  we  preach  to  others,  even  with  success,  the  more  surely 
shall  ourselves  be  rejected.    1  Cor.  ix.  27. 

3.  We  represent  Jesus  Christ  as  "  becoming  poor.''  2  Cor. 
viii.  9.  Was  it  without  purpose  that  he  became  poor  ?  Was 
it  not  enough  that  he  became  a  man  ?  "  The  foxes  had  holes, 
the  birds  of  the  air  had  nests,  but  the  Son  of  man  had  not 
where  to  lay  his  head."  Only  one  passage  in  the  evangelists 
mentions  a  place  where,  at  a  certain  time,  Jesus  Christ  dwelt; 
and  there  is  no  ground  for  thinking  that  this  was  any  thing 
else  than  a  temporary  shelter.    John  i.  38,  39. 

4.  Wc  are  the  representatives  of  Christianity,  the  spirit 
of  which  is  to  rest,  not  on  the  visible,  but  upon  the  invisible, 
and  which  seeks  for  safety  where  others  believe  they  can  find 
only  danger — that  it  is  in  a  situation  of  uncertainty  and  ap- 
prehension.* Can  we  have  a  spirit  like  this  and  represent 
Christianity  faithfully,  when  we  seek  not  only  security,  which 


*  Jesus  Christ  desired  ministers  who  should  voluntarily  and  from 
love  undertake  the  function  of  ambassadors ;  but  must  not  the  pros- 
pects of  fortune  and  even  too  much  security  for  the  future  render 
their  vocation  doubtful?  Precariousness  is  the  soul  of  all  that  be- 
longs to  Christianity.  To  consecrate  this  principle,  Jesus  Christ 
became  poor  in  all  senses,  and  chose  such  to  be  his  disciples ;  for 
this  reason  St.  Paul  "labored,  working  with  his  own  hands."  1  Cor. 
iv.  12. 


186  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

itself  is,  perhaps,  too  mucli  to  seek,  but  convenience,  super- 
fluity, and  affluence  ? 

5.  [The  minister  is  the  chief  almoner  of  the  Church.  As 
the  distributer  of  the  bounty  of  others,  he  ought  also  to  dis- 
tribute as  much  as  possible  from  his  own  resources.  Even 
where  it  might  seem  that  he  can  receive,  he  is  intended  to 
give.     Now]  interest  excludes  charity  and  almsgiving. 

6.  For  the  sake  of  ministers  directly  has  the  sentiment 
been  suggested,  "  The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil : 
which,  while  some  have  coveted  after,  they  have  erred  from 
the  faith.  .  .  .  But  thou,  0  man  of  God,  flee  these  things." 
1  Tim.  vi.  10,  11.  Surely  we  may  say  of  the  love  of  money 
that  it  has  caused  men  to  "  err  from  the  faith,"  since  it  led 
Judas  to  betray  his  Master  for  silver.  Selfishness  is  a  prin- 
ciple that  leads  to  unfaithfulness  and  prevarication.  It  is 
remarkable  that  the  fear  of  prison  and  death  should  have 
made  fewer  apostates  than  the  love  of  money.  But,  without 
speaking  of  actual  apostasy,  we  may  say  that  there  is  no  vice 
which  has  ruined  so  many  virtues,  and  which  is  more  incom- 
patible with  all  mental  and  spiritual  elevation.*  This  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  absorbing  passion  to  which  we  are  ex- 
posed :  dishonest  gain  "  taketh  away  the  life  of  the  owners 
thereof"    Prov.  i.  19. 

7.  Accordingly,  nothing  alienates  hearts  and  destroys  the 
possibility  of  confidence  more  than  avarice;  I  do  not  say 
open  and  flagrant,  but  only  such  as  excites  observation,  or 
even  the  very  suspicion  of  the  lack  of  disinterestedness.  The 
hireling  pastor  will  only  retain  around  him  souls  which  are 
as  mercenary  as  himself.  The  sheep  "■  will  not  follow  a 
stranger."  John  x.  5.  The  living  seek  those  who  are  alive ; 
the  dead  remain  with  the  dead.    While,  on  the  contrary,  dis- 

*  "Nihil  est  tain  augusti,  tamque  parvi  animi  quam  amare  divi- 
tias." — Cicero,  De  Officiis,  lib.  i. 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  187 

interestedness  gains  for  itself  regard  before  all  examination, 
and  gives  a  presumption  of  sincerity  and  trustworthiness. 
Charity,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  covers  a  multitude  of  sins, 

8.  Ingenuousness  is  easily  lost  by  him  who  is  confined 
within  the  bonds  of  interest,  not  only  because  interestedness 
enfeebles  the  principle  of  this  virtue  within  us,  but  because 
it  is  not  always  possible  to  be  ingenuous  without  being  also 
independent.  A  secret,  undivulged  instinct  prompts  us  to 
artifice,  even  when  it  is  not  required. 

9.  The  appearance  even  of  this  vice  is  to  be  dreaded,  be- 
cause it  is  the  first  thing  suspected  or  detected  in  believers 
by  unbelievers.  This  is  natural :  religion  is  so  powerful  that 
it  may  influence  all  who  believe  in  it  to  make  temporary  sac- 
rifices in  consideration  of  eternal  results ;  and  these  sacrifices 
are  easily  made,  are  often  made  to  the  advantage  of  those 
who  represent  the  interest  or  the  idea  of  eternity. 

In  all  human  religions,  the  superstitious  terrors  of  the 
human  heart  have  been  practiced  upon  to  the  advantage  of 
the  cupidity  of  some  select  individuals.  St.  Paul  did  not 
find  it  difficult  to  recognize  that  there  are,  and  always  will 
be,  persons  who  regard  piety  as  a  means  of  gaining  wealth ; 
and  he  exhorts  Timothy  to  separate  himself  from  such  per- 
sons, doubtless,  rather  by  a  conduct  different  from  theirs, 
than  by  any  pains  to  avoid  their  society.  1  Tim.  vi.  5. 
Doubtless,  he  refers  to  sordid  and  hypocritical  ministers  in 
2  Tim.  iii.  6,  7,  "  Of  this  sort  are  they  which  creep  into 
houses,  and  lead  captive  silly  women  laden  with  sins,  led 
away  with  divers  lusts,  ever  learning,  and  never  able  to  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  There  have  been  since,  as 
well  as  before  the  days  of  Jesus  Christ,  those  who  "  devour 
widows'  houses,  and  for  a  pretence  make  long  prayer."  Matt, 
xxiii.  14.  [We  do  not  see  these  scandals  around  us;  but 
they  are  possible  nevertheless,  and  they  even  sometimes  ap- 
pear under  another  form.     A  man  may  avail  himself  of  his 


188  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

office  to  seek  for  concessions  which  would  else  be  refused.] 
This  renders  the  world  suspicious :  it  readily  believes  that 
ministers  are  interested  :  either  because  this  is  the  vice  that 
most  frequently  appears,  or  because  it  is  in  fact  that  to  which 
we  are  most  exposed,  this  it  is  of  which  the  world  most  ac- 
cuses us.  [The  minister  will  easily,  if  he  is  on  his  guard, 
avoid  certain  slips;  but  avarice  glides  stealthily  into  the 
heart,  and  there  are  many  ministers  who  only  expose  them- 
selves to  this  reproach.  Kightly  or  wrongly,  they  are  fre- 
quently charged  with  it.*] 

We  need  not  wonder  that  St.  Paul  has  directed  his  prin- 
cipal rebukes  and  admonitions  against  this  tendency.  He 
saw  how  great  a  danger  there  was  lest  ministers  should  fall 
into  avarice,  and  be  reproached  with  it.  He  foresees  this 
double  evil.  He  does  not  satisfy  himself  with  saying,  ''A 
bishop  must  not  be  given  to  filthy  lucre."  Titus  i.  7.  He 
opposes  the  evil  with  greater  force,  by  more  direct  means, 
but  especially  by  his  own  example,  which  he  dares,  humble 
as  he  is,  to  present  and  to  comment  upon.  "  We  .  . .  wrought 
with  labor  and  travail  night  and  day,  that  we  might  not  be 
chargeable  to  any  of  you."  ...  2  Thess.  iii.  8,  9.  See  also 
1  Cor.  iv.  12.  In  1  Cor.  ix.,  he  recognizes,  as  elsewhere, 
(1  Tim.  V.  17,  18,)  the  duty  of  believers  to  help  their  pas- 
tors ;  but,  so  far  as  he  is  concerned,  he  refuses  to  press  this 

*  "It  seems  that  this  vice  is  a  curse  attached  to  the  priesthood." — 
Massillon,  Synodal  Discourse,  No.  IX.,  On  the  Avarice  of  Priests. 
"  The  world  regards  us  as  nearly  all  infected  and  stained  with  this 
hideous  leprosy.  ...  A  priest  and  an  avaricious  man  they  regard 
as  identical  expressions." — Massillon,  Synodal  Discourse,  No.  III., 
On  Compassion  for  the  Poor.  Episcopi  plurimi,  quos  et  ornamento 
esse  oportet  cseteris  et  cxemplo,  divina  procuratione  contempta,  pro- 
curatores  rerum  stecularium  fieri ;  derelicta  cathedra,  plebe  deserta, 
per  alienas  provincias  oberrantes,  negotiationis  qusesturse  nundinas 
aucupari." — Cyprian,  De  Lapsis. 


RELATIVE     OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  189 

claim.  In  2  Cor.  xii.  14-19,  he  renounces  all  kind  of  right ; 
he  gives  without  claim  or  expectation  of  return. 

[When,  at  Miletus,  he  took  farewell  of  the  elders  from 
Ephesus,  Paul  also  reminded  them  of  his  conduct  in  this 
respect,  and  draws  for  them  this  lesson  :]  "  I  have  coveted 
no  man's  silver  or  gold,  or  apparel.  Yea,  ye  yourselves  know 
that  these  hands  have  ministered  unto  my  necessities,  and  to 
them  that  were  with  me.  I  have  showed  you  all  things,  how 
that,  so  laboring,  ye  ought  to  support  the  weak,  and  to  re- 
member the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  said,  It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."  Acts  xx,  33-35.  And 
this  was  very  much  the  spirit  of  the  pastors  of  the  primitive 
Church,  and,  a  long  time  after,  of  those  bishops  who  gave  up 
all  their  property. 

All  Scripture  marks  out  avarice  as  the  most  fatal  vice  in 
the  ministry  :  the  worthless  minister  is  generally  the  merce- 
nary minister.* 

After  having  shown  the  importance  of  avoiding  avarice, 
we  must  say  that  this  is  a  vice  by  which  we  are  continually 
threatened.  Not  without  reason  did  our  Lord  say,  ''  Take 
hoed  and  beware  of  covetousness,"  Luke  xii.  15;  he  desired 
the  apostles  to  take  with  them  no  purse.  Judas,  however, 
kept  the  bag.  [There  was  then  a  steward ;  but  this  does  not 
affect  our  rule.] 

1.  This  vice  may  glide  into  our  hearts  by  means  of  the 
most  deceptive  appearances,  the  most  seductive  pretexts,  the 
most  insensible  gradations.  We  may  be  lavish  while  we  are 
avaricious,  and  the  first  of  these  vices  may  be  a  mask  for  the 
second.     A  man  may  be  decidedly,  and  for  a  long  time,  covet- 


*  Numerous  passages  of  Scripture  may  be  referred  to  which  de- 
nounce mercenary  or  interested  ministers.  Bridges  quotes  the  fol- 
lowing: Isa.  Ivi.  11:  Jer.  vi.  13:  Ezeii.  xxxiv.  1-3:  Micah  iii.  11: 
Matt.  XV.  5,  6;  xxiii.  14. 


190  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

ous,  without  suspecting  it.  [No  sophism,  among  many,  is 
more  mischievous  than  the  impression  that  a  man  ought  to 
devote  all  his  property  to  his  children  :  he  forgets  that  it  is, 
first  of  all,  to  be  devoted  to  God.  With  many  covetous  men 
there  is  a  perversity  of  mind,  joined,  it  is  true,  to  a  malady 
of  the  heart.]  Francis  de  Sales  says  that,  in  the  course  of 
his  practice  as  confessor,  he  never  heard  any  one  accuse  him- 
self of  avarice. 

2.  This  is  a  vice  which  begets  all  others,  and  in  which  are 
centred  all  the  lusts  of  the  heart.  It  increases  with  age ; 
[avarice  is  always  possible  when  it  is  no  longer  possible  for 
the  man  to  abandon  himself  to  other  passions.] 

3.  It  is  the  vice  that  is  most  compatible  with  exterior 
habits  of  Christianity,  with  decency,  and  a  certain  gravity 
of  manners,  although  there  is  a  point  when  it  becomes  scan- 
dalous. [Paul  doubtless  referred  to  this  stage  of  it  when  he 
said,]  "  If  any  man  that  is  called  a  brother  be  .  .  .  covetous, 
.  .  .  with  such  a  oile  keep  no  company."  1  Cor.  v.  11. 
[At  that  time  covetousness  became  flagrant  more  quickly  than 
it  does  now,  by  its  contrast  with  the  disinterestedness  which 
led  the  brethren  to  have  all  things  in  common.  In  our  times 
this  is  no  longer  the  case,  and,  consequently,  it  is  more  diffi- 
cult to  prove  such  a  vice.] 

4.  This  is  the  vice  to  which  our  position  most  exposes  us, 
and  which  most  speedily  involves  us  in  all  others,  and  permits 
them.  It  seems,  in  some  sort,  to  urge  us  on  by  the  petty  con- 
trivances which  it  suggests  and  necessitates. 

5.  Lastly,  this  vice  is  the  most  difficult  to  eradicate.  When 
once  it  has  taken  root,  it  cannot  be  assailed  by  either  reason, 
ridicule,  self-love,  or  shame.* 

The  duty  of  disinterestedness  involves  : 


*  Imagination  has  a  part  in  this  vice.     See  the  advice  given  by 
Madame  Guizot :  Domestic  Education,  Letter  xxxi. 


RELATIVE    OR     SOCIAL    LIFE.  191 

1.  Not  to  embrace  the  ministry  witli  interested  views. 
"  Feed  the  flock  of  God  .  .  .  not  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a 
ready  mind."  1  Pet.  v.  2.  [The  filthy  lucre  of  which  St. 
Peter  speaks  is  dishonest  gain — gain  desired  as  such.]  This 
expression  is  well  illustrated  by  the  words,  "  Freely  ye  have 
received,  freely  give."  Matt.  x.  8.  Assistance  given  by 
believers  is  not  a  salary,  but  a  subsidy,  an  aid,  (although 
justly  due.)  "They  which  minister  about  holy  things,  live 
of  the  things  of  the  altar."  1  Cor.  ix.  13.  The  idea  of 
gratuitous  labor  still  remains,  and  we  have  seen  how  St.  Paul 
strove  to  consecrate  it  by  his  example.  The  mercenary  pas- 
tor is  compared  to  a  robber.  John  x.  [IMicah,  after  having 
said,  to  show  the  iniquity  of  Jerusalem,  "  The  heads  thereof 
judge  for  reward,"  adds,  "  The  priests  thereof  teach  for 
hire,  and  the  prophets  thereof  divine  for  money."  Micah 
iii.  11.]  In  this  respect  our  institutions  present  advantages. 
Ministers  may  still  assume  their  ofiice  for  the  sake  of  the 
stipend,  but  no  allurement  is  offered  to  their  cupidity ;  they 
have  to  wait  long  for  the  ease  which  they  desire.*  We  might 
then  easily  apply  to  the  minister  the  words  of  the  Saviour, 
"  Ye  seek  me,  not  because  ye  saw  the  miracles,  but  because 
ye  did  eat  of  the  loaves  and  were  filled."     John  vi.  26. 

2.  Not  to  make  use  of  the  position  of  a  minister  for 
purposes  of  gain.  [This  kind  of  interested  calculation  is  not 
always  possible.  Nevertheless,  the  independence  of  the  min- 
ister may  easily  be  compromised  by  those  flatteries,  those 
presents  which  it  is  often  impossible  to  refuse. "f"  Affection, 
even  delicacy,  sometimes  require  them  to  be  accepted  j  but 


*  "Tandem  respicit  inertem,  sera  tamen."  Virgil.  Eel.,  i.  27. — 
Ed. 

■}■  These  are  only  casual ;  however,  special  religious  instruction. 
and  in  some  places  funeral  and  marriage  services,  etc.,  thus  expose 
a  minister. 


192  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

the  minister  must  guard  against  allowing  his  mind  to  he  at- 
tracted by  gain.] 

3.  Not  to  seek  in  foreign  occupations,  which  are  hut  little 
becoming  his  character,  a  means  of  ameliorating  his  condi- 
tion. 

4.  To  be  [in  matters  affecting  his  own  interest]  as  generous 
and  free  as  his  position  will  allow. 

With  regard  to  the  means  for  acquiring  disinterestedness, 
there  is  economy,  which  preserves  us  from  avarice  or  its  as- 
saults; for  prodigality  and  disorder  produce  covetousness. 
It  is  with  money  as  with  time :  the  man  who  manages  his 
time  well  has  more  of  it  at  the  disposal  of  others ;  similarly, 
the  provident  man  is  in  a  better  condition  to  be  generous  ac- 
cording to  his  means.  In  order  to  be  disinterested,  a  man 
need  not  have  expensive  fancies,  nor  too  much  gratify  his 
senses,  his  flesh,  or  his  vanity.  Certain  habits  procure  so 
little  pleasure  to  those  who  abandon  themselves  to  them,  that 
we  might  say  they  only  adopt  them  as  an  experiment  of  some 
new  modes  of  existence,  or  to  multiply,  not  their  enjoyments, 
but  their  sensations. 

This  plan  supposes  another,  which  is  the  first,  and  alone  is 
efficacious  :  it  is  love.  Vice  can  only  be  corrected  by  its  cor- 
responding virtue — avarice  by  charity.  Avarice  must  be  dis- 
placed, according  to  Quesnel's  beautiful  thought,  who  says 
that  "  the  passion  of  ever  gaining  more  souls  to  God,  is  the 
only  covetousness  permitted  to  the  pastor." 

The  maxims  of  the  Catholic  Church  on  this  subject  are 
remarkable.  "  The  good  pastor,"  says  St.  Cyran,  "  loves  the 
poor,  and  gives  up  to  them  entirely  all  his  possessions."* 
The  Catholic  Church  brands  with  her  mark  of  disapproval 
all  priests  who  leave  property  behind  them.-f     Several  have 

*  St.  Cyran's  Thoughts  on  the  Priesthood. 

-}■  See,  on  this,  Massillon,  in  several  places,  and  especially  his 
synodical  discourse  on  Compassion  for  the  Poor. 


RELATIVE    OR     SOCIAL    LIFE.  193 

even  maintained  that,  according  to  the  example  of  certain 
bishops  of  early  times,  the  priest  ought  to  give  up  all  his 
property  at  once.  Duguet  rejects  this  idea,  but  treats  it 
with  consideration  and  respect.*  It  is  evident  that  the  un- 
married pastor  is  more  free  in  this  respect  than  the  married. 
The  married  pastor  must  not  surrender  all  his  goods,  but  use 
them,  and  administer  them  according  to  the  purposes  of  God, 
who  has  given  them  to  him.  Jesus  Christ  said  to  his  Father, 
"  I  pray  not  that  thou  shouldcst  take  them  out  of  the  world, 
but  that  thou  shouldcst  keep  them  from  the  evil."  John 
xvii.  15. 

§  VII. — THE    MINISTER   AS    RELATED    TO   TUE    GENERAL    IN- 
TEREST  OF    SOCIETY. 

We  have  shown  the  style  of  deportment  that  is  becoming 
a  pastor.  The  general  duty  of  all  men  is  to  preach  by  ex- 
ample ;  this  also  is  much  more  his  duty.  It  remains  for  us 
to  ask,  What  are,  apart  from  his  pastoral  duties,  his  relations 
to  society  in  general  ?  Does  he  belong  only  to  his  parish  ? 
only  to  religion  ?  ought  he  to  remain  a  stranger  to  the  great 
interests  of  general  society  ? 

It  seems  at  first  sight  that  as  religion  adopts  the  whole  of 
human  life,  in  order  to  glorify  it,  so  the  pastor,  who  is  the 
most  complete  representative  of  religion,  ought  equally  to 
represent  human  life. 

We  have  striking  examples  of  priests  and  monks  who  were 
promoters  of  civilization,  and  of  science,  etcf  The  nature 
of  his  studies,  and  the  exercise  of  his  functions,  develop  in 
the  minister  faculties  which  find  various  and  fertile  applica- 
tions in  different  spheres  of  life. 

*  Letters  on  DiflFercntMorj^land  Religious  Subjects,  vol.  ii.,pp.  0,22. 
f  Sec  Malte-Brun's  Scientific  and  Literary  Miscellanies,  vol.  i.,  p. 
324.     (On  the  Norwegian  Clergy.) 

7 


194  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

[Talleyrand  has  said  that  there  is  no  such  good  prepara- 
tion for  diplomacy  as  theology.*  Indeed,  ministerial  studies 
are  more  comprehensive  or  general  than  all  other  studies ; 
the  study  of  theology  is  more  humanizing  than  any  other, 
even  that  which  directly  concerns  social  interests  and  aifairs.] 

All  this  we  grant,  and  we  allow  that  different  times  may 
involve  different  duties,  but  [we  must  make  the  following  re- 
serves :] 

1.  lleligion  is  a  special  concern.  It  embraces  and  pervades 
all,  but  it  is  not  all ;  it  has  its  own  distinct  nature.  Before 
it  can  be  advantageously  united  to  the  things  of  life,  it  must 
be  distinguished  from  them.  Christianity  does  not  hastily 
mix  with  popular  life :  if  it  does  so,  it  acts  dynamically,  as  a 
spiritual  energy.  So  must  it  be  in  every  individual :  we 
must  be  well  rooted  in  the  centre,  before  we  can  expand  our 
life  over  a  wide  circumference.  [Let  the  minister  first 
occupy  himself  with  his  own  aflFairs  :  let  him  be  distinctively 
a  Christian  and  a  minister :  his  branches  will  spread  after- 
wards, and  his  beneficent  shade  will  be  felt  in  all  regions  of 
society.] 

2.  There  is,  in  the  direct  and  immediate  claims  of  the 
ministry,  so  much  good  to  be  done,  that  the  minister  is  not 
called  upon  to  seek  for  indirect  modes  of  doing  good.  [The 
minister  ought  to  seek  to  give  a  resting-place  and  foundation  to 
the  human  family,  and  that  foundation  is  religious  truth : 
when  humanity  has  found  this,  it  will  proceed  in  a  straight 
path  to  its  destiny.  The  minister  might  glorify  his  mission 
by  some  external  benefits ;  but  when  others  can  do  this,  let 
him  adhere  closely  to  his  vocation.  He  may  engage  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  when  there  is  a  necessity  for  it,  and  may 
assist  in  schools  and  in  religious  song ;  but,  before  and  above 
all  things,  he  ought  to  attend  to  his  ministry.     If,  however, 

*  Eulogium  on  the  Count  de  Reinhard. 


RELATIVE     OR     SOCIAT,    LIFE.  195 

he  can  act  as  Oberlin  and  Felix  Neff,  let  him  by  all  means 
do  so  without  hesitation.] 

3,  Is  it  not  an  advantage  for  the  minister  to  be  compro- 
mised by  nothing,  and  to  be  able  to  enter  as  a  judge  and  ad- 
viser into  every  thing,  because  he  is  above  all  ?  [If,  on  the 
contrary,  he  mingles  too  readily  in  things  which  do  not  con- 
cern his  ministry,  he  will  soon  find  himself  to  be  a  party  as 
well  as  a  judge,  and  will  not  be  able  to  pronounce  his  verdict 
so  freely. 

4.  There  is  great  danger  for  religion  when  the  minister,  as 
a  minister,  mixes  with  temporal  interests,  and  gives  to  religion 
a  kind  of  authority  and  jurisdiction  which  it  refuses.  It  may 
be  thus  exposed  to  much  reproach  and  calumny.] 

We  may  treat  of  one  particular  point,  namely,  politics.  It 
is  to  be  distinguished  from  patriotism,  which  is,  if  not  a 
Christian  virtue,  yet  an  affection  which  Christianity  adopts 
and  sanctifies,  and  a  duty,  for  which,  as  for  all  others,  it  gives 
strength  and  illumination.  Jesus  Christ  knew  this  aficction : 
St.  l*aul  also  did.  Rom.  ix.  1-5.  Participation  in  political 
affairs  is  not  the  only  nor  the  best  proof  of  patriotism  which 
a  citizen  can  give ;  this  is  a  special  feature  of  patriotism 
which  we  do  not  think  is  prohibited  to  Christians,  but  still 
less  is  it  imposed  upon  them  as  a  duty. 

It  has  appeared  desirable  to  some  persons  that  ministers 
should  apply  themselves  to  it.*     I  do  not  think  they  can  as 

*  "Nothing  appears  to  me  in  general  to  be  worse  arranged,"  says 
ISI.  Navillc,  "  in  the  interests  of  humanitj^,  than  that  these  men  should 
lie  banished  far  from  tliosc  spheres  in  whicli  ideas  and  sentiments  are 
agitated,  for  which  their  presence  and  influence  arc  most  demanded 
that  the  results  may  be  salutary;  as,  for  instance,  from  assemblies, 
theatres,  debates,  the  periodic  press." — Memoire  sur  r amour  dc  la 
patrie  Suisse,  pp.  98,  99.  Gfitieva,  1839.  Sec  also  Dr.  Brown's  work, 
The  Law  of  Christ  respecting  Civil  Obedience,  p.  228. 


196  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

pastors ;  as  to  tliat  part  of  their  duty  wliicli  does  not  belong 
to  the  cure  of  souls — what  is  right  for  the  citizen  and  politi- 
cian— this  is  an  entirely  different  question.  We  may  not 
judge  the  pastor  who  interferes  with  politics,  and,  in  a  gen- 
eral treatment  of  the  subject,  we  cannot  condemn  him  :  we 
must  suppose  that  he  has  renounced  his  direct  ministry,  for 
which  these  occupations  cannot  at  all  prepare  him.  But  how 
can  the  pastor  thus  act  without  impairing  his  success  and 
even  bringing  perils  on  his  ministry  ? 

I  do  not  speak  especially  of  the  presence  of  pastors  in  the 
representative  assemblies  of  the  nation :  that  does  not  consti- 
tute a  political  career,  though,  in  general,  this  is  hardly  the 
place  for  them.*  [It  would  not,  perhaps,  be  just  to  exclude 
them  from  such  assemblies,  but  they  would  do  well  volun- 
tarily to  exclude  themselves.  There  is  too  great  a  distance 
between  political  and  pastoral  life ;  pastors  do  not,  in  the  ful- 
filment of  their  duties,  form  the  kind  of  habits  which  these 
assemblies  demand,  and  vice  versa.  As  to  religious  questions, 
which  ought  never  to  be  brought  before  such  assemblies, 
there  is  no  need  for  the  presence  of  ministers  in  order  that 
they  may  be  well  treated ;  the  ferment  of  political  discussion 
docs  not  easily  adapt  itself  to  pastoral  habits  ;  ministers  can- 
not prevent  hearing,  in  these  assemblies,  things  to  which 
their  position  urges  them,  and,  at  the  same  time,  forbids  them 
to  reply. 

It  is  in  other  modes,  by  other  channels,  that  religion  must 
influence  and  permeate  political  life. 

Political  power,  when  it  would  make  use  of  religion,  com- 
pels religion  to  become  changed  into  politics ;  both,  however, 
arc  thus  corrupted,  and  the  second  more  than  the  first.  Bur- 
net, who  knew  from  experience  how  politics  aflFect  religious 

*  It  is  not  even  quite  certain  that  the  deliberations  of  ecclesiastical 
bodies  are  good  for  them. 


RELATIVE    OR     SOCIAL    LIFE.  197 

and  pastoral  life,  expresses  himself  in  the  following  terms  on 
the  injury  which  is  done  to  religion  by  interference  with 
politics,  (a  thing  which,  I  confess,  is  too  inevitable  when  the 
Church  is  connected  with  the  State :)  "  Politics  and  party 
eat  out  among  us  not  only  study  and  learning,  but  that  which 
is  the  only  thing  more  valuable,  a  true  sense  of  religion,  with 
a  sincere  zeal  in  advancing  that  for  which  the  Son  of  God 
both  lived  and  died,  and  to  which  those  who  arc  received  into 
holy  orders  have  vowed  to  dedicate  their  lives  and  labors."* 
However,  let  us  not  too  hastily  condemn  all  extension  of  min- 
isterial activity,  nor  assume  to  define  all  its  limits.  We  be- 
lieve that  it  is  susceptible,  according  to  the  times,  of  an  in- 
definite extension ;  but  the  present  times  have  their  signs, 
which  we  must  regard  and  discern. f 

*  Burnet's  Discourse  of  the  P.istoral  Care.  Preface  to  the  third 
edition. 

f  Is  the  ministry,  as  understood  and  practiced  now,  confined  to  the 
same  limits  as  the  ministry  in  primitive  times  ? 


198  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 


CHAPTER  II. 

DOMESTIC    LIFE    OF    THE    MINISTER. 


§  I. — GENERAL  REFLECTIONS. — MARRIAGE  AND  CELIBACY. — 
THE   pastor's   wife. 

The  New  Testament  is  not  silent  on  those  points.  "A 
bishop  must  be  blameless,  the  husband  of  one  wife,  vigilant, 
sober,  of  good  behavior,  given  to  hospitality,  apt  to  teach ; 
.  .  .  one  that  ruleth  well  his  own  house,  having  his  children 
in  subjection  with  all  gravity;  for  if  a  man  know  not  how  to 
rule  his  own  bouse,  how  shall  he  take  care  of  the  Church  of 
God  ?  .  .  ♦ .  Even  so  must  their  wives  be  grave,  not  slander- 
ers, sober,  faithful  in  all  things."  1  Tim.  iii.  2,  4,  5,  11. 
"  For  this  cause  left  I  thee  in  Crete,  that  thou  shouldest  set 
in  order  the  things  that  are  wanting,  and  ordain  elders  in 
every  city,  as  I  had  appointed  thee :  if  any  be  blameless,  the 
husband  of  one  wife,  having' faithful  children  not  accused  of 
riot  or  unruly.  For  a  bishop  must  be  blameless,  as  the 
steward  of  God  ;  not  self-willed,  not  soon  angry,  not  given  to 
wine,  no  striker,  not  given  to  filthy  lucre ;  but  a  lover  of 
hospitality,  a  lover  of  good  men,  sober,  just,  holy,  temperate." 
Titus  i.  5-8. 

These  passages  suppose  the  minister  to  be  a  married  man 
and  the  father  of  a  family,  which  does  not  necessarily  involve 
that  marriage  is  prescribed  to  the  minister.    If  it  is  said  that 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  199 

this  is  necessary  in  order  that  he  may  be  in  all  things  "  an 
example  of  the  believers,"  (1  Tim.  iv.  12  :  Titus  ii.  7,)  wo 
reply  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  him  to  be  in  this  particular 
position  in  order  to  be  a  fit  example  to  those  who  are  there. 
[This  assumption  would  be  absurd  and  contrary  to  the  spirit 
of  the  gospel,  which  will  not  confine  us  within  literal  rules : 
as  an  illustration  of  which  we  may  cite  the  fact  that  the  four 
Evangelists  often  relate  the  same  event  in  different  forms. 
Everywhere  in  the  Gospel  we  find  the  same  free  and  gener- 
ous spirit.]  Not  less  is  our  Lord  an  example  to  us  in  all 
things,  although  he  only  lived  in  the  most  general  relations 
of  humanity.  Lastly,  St.  Paul  himself,  the  writer  of  the 
passages  which  we  have  just  quoted,  was  not  married. 

St.  Paul,  who  has  vindicated  the  right  of  all  to  marry,  (1 
Tim.  iv.  3,)  has  not  less  honored  celibacy,  recommending  it 
as  not  only  convenient  in  those  times  of  peril  in  which  the 
Church  then  existed,  (1  Cor.  vii.  26,  27,)  but  also  as  a  means 
of  devoting  the  whole  life  more  entirely  to  God.  1  Cor.  vii. 
o2,  35.  In  this  passage  he  only  reproduces  the  thought  of 
Jesus  Christ  himself.  Matt.  xix.  10-12.  He  does  not  con- 
tradict himself  when  he  thus  enforces  a  perfection,  the  uni- 
versal realization  of  which  would  be  incompatible  with  the 
existence  of  society,  because  then,  most  evidently,  the  society 
of  earth  would  become  transformed  into  the  society  of  hea- 
ven. Celibacy,  in  the  spirit  in  which  Jesus  Christ  practiced 
it,  would  not  injure  the  world,  and  this  is  the  only  kind  of 
celibacy  which  the  apostle  was  speaking  of;  the  words  of 
Jesus  Christ  sufiiciently  indicate  that  such  celibacy  would 
never  be  otherwise  than  a  rare  exception. 

St.  Paul,  and  his  Master  before  him,  were  not. referring,  in 
the  passages  which  we  have  quoted,  to  a  particular  class  in 
the  Church,  but,  as  a  counsel  of  perfection,  does  it  not  regard 
the  pastors  especially  in  the  Church  ? 

"Where  a  minister  feels  disposed  to  celibacy  by  an  interior 


200  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

impulse  from  the  Spirit,  he  ought  not  to  fear  that  he  will  be, 
on  this  account,  less  useful  to  the  Church ;  for  the  advan- 
tageg  which  he  might  gain  by  his  marriage  are  not  greater, 
perhaps  less,  than  the  advantages  of  a  pure  and  devoted  celi- 
bacy. And  perhaps  it  is  to  be  regretted,  if  not  that  there 
are  not  more  unmarried  ministers,  yet  certainly  that  there  are 
not  more  ministers  who  feel  in  themselves  a  disposition  to 
this  state.  There  are  times  and  circumstances  when  an  un- 
married minister  can  render  services  to  the  Church  which  a 
married  man  cannot  so  well  render.  Out  of  the  domain  of 
religious  activity,  the  men  who  have  done  the  greatest  things 
have  lived  in  a  state  of  celibacy,  or  in  a  married  state  but 
little  differing  from  one  of  celibacy.  Moreover,  voluntary 
celibacy  docs  not  place  the  minister  in  a  position  hostile  to 
society. 

But  the  celibacy  of  the  pastor  is  only  good  as  a  positive 
and  special  vocation  added  to  the  general  vocation  to  the  min- 
istry. If  he  has  not  been  urged  thereunto  by  a  desire  for 
greater  purity  and  devotedness,  it  is,  even  with  the  most  un- 
blamable manners,  evil  rather  than  good.  I  should  fear  lest 
it  might  induce  habits  of  too  great  irregularity,  and  too  little 
consistent  with  the  dignity  of  the  pastor.*  I  should  fear 
lest  suspicions  might  be  cast  on  his  purity ;  for  he  requires 
in  such  a  condition  a  loftier  height  of  sanctity  in  order  to 
escape  from  all  injurious  suspicions.  It  is  very  true  that 
there  is  something  pure  and  angelic  in  the  idea  of  a  truly 
honorable  celibacy ;  but,  before  we  can  attain  unto  this  char- 
acter, our  celibacy  must  be  tested. 

As  a  general  rule,  when  celibacy  is  not  adopted  as  sacrifice 
for  the  kingdom  of  God,  marriage  is  better.     It  is  certain 

*  Ennui  and  absohite  solitude  may  easily  lead  a  minister  to  seek 
abroad  the  change  and  relaxation  ■which  he  cannot  find  at  home: 
hence  long  and  frequent  visits,  loitering,  gossiping  habits,  etc. 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  201 

that  if  the  minister  does  not  gain  by  his  celibacy,  he  kises  by 
it.  For  in  this  case  there  is  no  more  devotedness,  and  tliere 
is  one  less  opportunity  of  applying  and  using  what  devoted- 
ness he  has.  Taking  men  as  they  arc,  the  married  pastor  is, 
cseteris  paribus,  more  useful  than  the  unmarried  pastor.  In 
a  judiciously  formed  union  and  in  family  life,  there  is,  in 
the  first  place,  an  example  presented  to  his  parish  and  to  the 
world ;  and,  if  the  pastor's  wife  is  what  she  ought  to  be,  the 
minister  will  find,  also,  useful  cooperation.* 

This  leads  us  to  speak  of  what  the  pastor's  wife  ought  to 
be.  This  point  is  so  important,  that  we  regard  celibacy  as 
much  better  than  a  marriage  which  is,  in  other  respects, 
judiciously  formed  and  happy,  but  injudiciously  formed  and 
unhappy  in  this,  that  the  wife  is  married  to  the  man,  and  not 
to  the  pastor;  or,  if  the  representation  is  preferred,  in  which 
the  minister  has  rather  regarded  himself  than  his  ministry. 

A.  good  example  is  the  pastor's  first  ministry,  and  St.  Paul 
associates  the  wife  in  this  ministry  when  he  wishes  the  wives 
to  be  "grave,  not  slanderers,  sober,  faithful  in  all  things."  1 
Tim.  iii.  11.  This  has  been  felt  to  be  so  important,  that  in 
certain  Churches,  those  of  Hungary,  the  minister  has  been 
made  positively  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  his  Avifcf  He 
is  everywhere  so,  morally,  and  the  responsibility  is  a  grave 
one ;  the  ministry  may  suifer  considerably  if  it  is  not  re- 
garded. How  much  will  the  humors  and  vices  of  the  wife 
(slander,  avarice,  negligence,  display,  etc.)  compromise  the 
pastor  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  !  And  conversely  :  Julian 
the  apostate,  observing  that  one  cause  of  the  success  of  the 

*  Harms  goes  too  far,  not  in  making  marriage  the  rule,  and  celi- 
bacy the  exception,  for  we  do  tlie  same ;  but  in  making  marriage  an 
absolute  necessity  and  obligation  for  the  pastor,  as  if  the  pastor  were 
not  completely  a  pastor  till  he  is  married,     (iii.,  182.) 

t  lie  is  punished  for  her  if  she  dances,  plays  at  cards,  etc.  See 
Bridges'  Christian  Ministry,  p,  200. 


202  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

gospel  was  the  purity  in  the  manners  of  its  promoters, 
and  especially  its  ministers,  and  wishing  to  enable  paganism 
to  compete  with  Christianity,  ordered  the  pagan  priests  to 
maintain  their  wives,  children,  and  domestics  in  the  same 
sanctity  of  manners.* 

If  only  one  thing  should  influence  his  selection,  should  it 
not  be  the  education  of  his  children,  which,  for  the  greatest 
part,  and  sometimes  almost  entirely,  always  in  the  most  direct 
and  continuous  manner,  depends  on  the  mother  ?  The  pastor 
cannot  at  the  same  time  educate  his  children  and  his  parish : 
far  from  it ;  with  the  best  intentions,  he  cannot  do  for  them 
as  much  as  he  would  wish,  and  as  much  as  another  man 
would  be  able  to  do ;  he  must  then  be  able  to  place  full  con- 
fidence in  his  partner  in  this  respect.  And,  besides,  how 
can  his  family,  under  the  influence  of  an  unchristian  mother, 
present  the  appearance  of  a  Christian  family  ?  It  is  very 
detrimental  to  the  authority  of  the  pastor,  if  his  wife  is  not 
seen  to  be  his  first  proselyte,  and,  I  may  add,  his  first  aid. 

In  fact,  the  wife  must  share  in  the  vocation  of  the  husband, 
and  for  this  she  must,  in  the  first  place,  share  his  convictions 
and  sentiments.  Without  this,  however  good  a  wife  in  other 
respects,  she  will  be  a  hindrance  and  a  scandal ;  and  the  more 
zealous  he  is,  so  much  the  more  will  the  impossibility  of  find- 
ing deepest  sympathy  and  concurrence,  or  at  least  interest, 
in  his  wife,  wound  and  discourage  his  heart. 

But  if  she  shares  his  sentiments,  he  has  a  lasting  and  ever 
present  consolation,  a  double  strength,  and  generally  an  ex- 
cellent adviser.  It  is  impossible  but  that  a  pious  wife  should 
become,  for  the  pastor,  with  especial  reference  to  his  minis- 
try, "a  help-meet"  for  him.  He  will  find  in  her  a  more 
vivid  and  delicate  penetration,  more  certain,  speedy,  and  re- 
fined tact,  a  milder  firmness,  and  more  gentle  perseverance.^ 

*  Bi'idges'  Christian  Ministry,  p.  197. 

I  "  AVe  must  find  in  her  a  monitor  in  the  best  sense  of  the  terra,  a 


I 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  208 

Consider  the  services  wliich  she  may  render  to  him — with 
the  poor,  sick,  schools,  etc.  She  will  be  the  natural  confi- 
dant of  the  women  of  his  congregation  ;  her  counsel  will  be 
more  readily  listened  to  in  certain  cases.  She  may  supply 
important  information  to  her  husband. 

Let  us  here  call  to  mind  Aquila  and  Priscilla,*  a  married 
pair,  (belonging  to  the  working  class,)  who  labored  with  St. 
Paul  for  Josus  Christ,  and  to  whom  all  the  churches  of  the 
(loutiles  were  under  obligations,  (Rom.  xvi.  3,  4,)  who  took 
with  them  Apollos  the  eloquent  Jew,  and  expounded  to  him 
the  way  of  God  more  perfectly,  (Acts  xviii.  2,  3,  26,)  and 
whose  two  names  are  never  separated  by  St.  Paul.  1  Cor. 
xvi.  19  :  2  Tim.  iv.  19. 

The  minister's  wife  is  necessarily  either  an  obstacle  or  an 
assistance  to  him  :  she  cannot  be  neither.  This  imposes  upon 
him  the  duty  of  remembering  his  ministry,  in  the  choice  of 
such  a  companion.  This  is  perhaps  seldom  done.  Men  arc 
engaged  before  they  are  serious  and  settled  in  character,  or, 
if  not,  they  are  urged  on  by  passion,  and  led  to  see  what 
really  does  not  exist. 

As  to  the  time  of  marriage,  it  is  perhaps  too  much  to  be 
wedded  to  a  wife  and  to  a  parish  at  the  same  time.  "Would 
it  not  be  better  for  him  that  these  two  acts  should  not  occur 
at  the  same  time,  or  follow  one  another  too  closely  i*  The 
two  arc  not  opposed  to  one  another,  but  they  are  diifer- 
ent.-j- 

co-worker,  a  prompter  to  good ;  if  she  is  not,  she  must  become  so, 
aJid  that  by  our  instrumentality." — Hai-ms,  iii.,  187. 

*  See  M.  Viuet's  discourse,  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  in  his  Gospel 
Studies. 

f  As  to  the  mode  of  entering  upon  the  marriage  state,  see  Lava- 
tor's  history,  by  Gcssnor,  vol.  i.,  pp.  803-306— a  history  as  interest- 
ing as  that  of  young  Tobias. 


204  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

§   11. — GOVERNMENT    OF   THE   FAMILY. 

"A  bishop  must  be  .  .  .  one  that  ruleth  well  his  own 
house ;  for  if  a  man  know  not  how  to  rule  his  own  house, 
how  shall  he  take  care  of  the  Church  of  God  ?"  1  Tim.  iii. 
4,5. 

It  is  by  no  means  natural,  and  the  case  will  seldom  be  met 
with,  that  a  minister  should  be  jealous  for  his  parish,  (jealous 
for  it  with  a  godly  jealousy,)  and  yet  neglect  his  family. 
How  can  he  be  a  bad  father  and  a  good  pastor,  which  is  a 
more  extended  paternity  ?  How  can  the  principle  of  charity 
which  makes  the  good  pastor,  exist  in  the  absence  of  the 
principle  of  affection  which  makes  the  good  father?  How 
shall  that  charity  which  concerns  itself  with  strangers  be 
unconcerned  with  those  of  his  own  household  ?  How  shall 
not  the  pastor  be  first  of  all  the  pastor  of  his  own  family  ? 
How  can  we  suppose  the  zeal  of  the  pastor  to  coexist  with 
the  indifference  of  the  father,  when  it  is  said  that  "if  any 
provide  not  for  his  own,  and  specially  for  those  of  his  own 
house,  he  hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel?" 
1  Tim.  V.  8. 

It  must,  however,  be  confessed  that,  strange  as  it  may 
seem,  a  certain  zeal  for  his  parish  may  be  displayed  while 
the  minister  has  not  a  proportionate  solicitude  for  his  family — 
that  he  may  allow  himself  to  be  absorbed  by  the  details  of  his 
ofiice,  perhaps  liking  this  external  activity  better  than  the 
cares  of  the  household  within.  There  are  many  children  ill 
brought  up  in  priestly  families,  and  the  fathers  of  these 
children  are  not  alwa3^s — far  from  it — the  worst  pastors. 

It  is  a  grave  mistake  to  believe  that  the  parish  ought  to 
take  the  precedency  of  the  family.  For  the  pastor,  as  for 
every  man,  the  first  interest  is  the  family.  If  he  will  not 
admit  this,  his  duty  will  be  simplified  by  his  remaining  un- 
married.    What  is  gained  to  the  family  is  also  gained  to  the 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  205 

parish;  in  the  first  place,  because,  as  Quesnel  says,  ''the 
family  is  a  small  diocese,  in  which  experiments  of  episcopal 
and  ecclesiastical  zeal,  piety,  and  prudence  arc  made;" 
secondly,  because  the  parish  gains  from  these  domestic  cares 
an  instructive  exemplar,  and  it  is  blessed  by  the  pastoral  spirit 
which  is  spread  throughout  the  family. 

It  loses  in  the  same  proportion  by  the  pastor's  domestic 
negligence,  however  much  the  sacrifice  of  his  children  may 
have  been  made  for  the  sake  of  his  parish ;  in  the  first  place, 
because  it  is  not  natural  that  a  true  blessing  should  rest  on 
the  cares  of  a  pastor  who,  not  having  cared  for  his  own,  "is 
worse  than  an  infidel ;"  and  then,  because  of  the  scandal 
which  he  occasions.  Remember  the  case  of  Eli's  sons.  1 
Sam.  ii.  In  spite  of  the  wise  and  grave  representations  of 
Eli  to  his  sons,  (ii.  23-25,)  we  see,  by  the  reproaches  which 
were  addressed  to  him,  (ii.  29,)  that  he,  by  his  feebleness, 
had  caused  their  transgressions,  and  from  the  first  chapter 
we  perceive  that  he  was  not,  in  the  highest  degree,  a  spiritual 
man. 

From  the  combined  influence  of  the  political  spirit  of  the 
times  and  certain  ideas  of  reform,  children  are  liable  to  be 
brought  up  in  a  different  spirit  from  that  entirely  submissive 
one  of  which  the  apostle  speaks.  These  influences  are  to  be 
guarded  against. 

§  III. — HOUSE  AND    HOUSEHOLD    ECONOMY    OF   THE    PASTOR. 

In  marrying,  the  minister  should  know  according  to  what 
general  principles  his  house  ought  to  be  governed,  and  the 
wife  whom  he  espouses  (the  aid  which  he  secures)  should 
learn  these  from  him,  if  she  has  them  yet  to  learn. 

Without  prejudice  to  a  wise  and  just  liberty,  the  arrange- 
ments of  his  house,  and  the  habits  of  the  external  life  of  his 
family,  should  be  subordinated  to  the  interest  of  his  ministry. 


206  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

This  is  not  a  yoke  which  he  imposes  on  his  partner,  but 
principles  which  she  must  needs  have  voluntarily  adopted  by 
virtue  of  an  interest  which  she  shares  with  him.  If  there  is 
not  this  concert,  or  if  these  principles  are  only  observed  by 
the  sacrifice  of  the  liberty  of  one  of  the  parties,  all  will  go 
wrong. 

This  being  premised,  wc  believe  that  the  arrangements  of 
the  domestic  establishment  ought  to  satisfy  the  requirements 
of  pastoral  decorum  in  two  ways  :  by  order  and  propriety  if 
the  pastor  is  poor,  by  simplicity  if  he  is  rich  ;  which  certainly 
does  not  imply  that  order  may  be  wanting  in  a  rich  house,  or 
simplicity  in  a  poor  one,  still  less  that  order  is  a  natural  re- 
sult of  riches,  and  simplicity  of  poverty,  without  any  further 
voluntary  effort. 

Order  is  the  ornament,  the  fitting  attire,  the  luxury  of 
poverty.  Nothing  is  so  sad  as  the  imitation  of  riches  and 
pretension  to  elegance  in  a  poor  family.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  order  in  the  midst  of  poverty  reveals  a  firm  spirit,  a 
serious  character,  a  peaceful  conscience ;  order  and  propriety 
among  the  poor  are  almost  virtues  in  themselves,  inspiring 
an  involuntary  respect,  and  their  absence  is  greatly  injurious 
to  the  influence  of  a  poor  pastor. 

Simplicity  is  the  only  ornament  which  can  be  fitly  added 
to  riches ;  it  is  always  in  good  taste,  and  especially  so  in  a 
minister's  house.  The  contrary  suggests  too  great  a  contrast 
with  pastoral  functions.  But  it  is  more.  The  manse  is  a 
second  poor-house  in  the  parish.  No  house  is  so  much  visited 
by  the  unfortunate :  a  little  thing  can  be  offensive  to  their 
sight.  That  which  the  rich  man,  or  the  man  merely  in  good 
circumstances,  hardly  honors  with  the  name  of  comfort,  is 
for  them  luxury  and  magnificence.  If,  in  the  house  of  an 
opulent  pastor,  opulence  may  rightly  appear,  this  should  be  in 
a  grave  and  serious  form,  and  should  not  be  obtruded  by 
what  is  fanciful,  meretricious,  or  sensual.     There  is  a  luxury 


RELATIVE     OR    SOCIAL     LIFE.  207 

whicli  appeals  to  the  senses,  there  is  another  which  appeals 
to  the  spirit  and  to  the  imagination,  or  in  which  matter  is 
subordinated  to  thought.* 

Too  frequent  attendance  at  social  gatherings  (I  mean  such 
as  assemblies,  soirees,  public  or  private  dinners,  etc.)  is  in- 
sulting to  poverty,  by  the  leisure  which  it  dissipates,  and  by 
the  expenses  which  it  involves,  or,  at  least,  presumes.  The 
pastoral  family  may  have  friends,  and  may  see  them,  familiarly 
and  often,  but  it  is  not  fitting  for  it  to  see  the  world.  The 
personal  austerity  of  the  pastor  will  not  correct  the  impres- 
sion which  will  be  produced  by  the  worldliness  of  his  wife 
and  children.  We  do  not  recommend  a  "cloistered  piety." 
Whatever  abuse  has  been  made  of  the  proverb,  "Youth  must 
have  its  day,"  it  is  not  without  truth.  But,  without  wishing 
to  fetter  nature,  and  desiring  to  encourage  a  discreet  liberty, 
yet  the  pastor's  house  ought  to  be  a  well-governed  house, 
and  dissipated  life  in  his  femily  will  be  a  fearful  scandal. 

We  have  said  elsewhere  that  one  of  the  pastor's  prerogatives 
is  to  belong  to  no  particular  class  in  society,  (page  100,)  and 
his  wife  and  children  must  not  spoil  him  of  this  prerogative 
by  their  too  intimate  association  with  the  fashionable  world. 

More  care  ought  to  he  taken  in  the  choice  of  servants  than 
in  any  other  house.  Not  only  should  the  pastor  have  persons 
who  are  suitable  so  far  as  the  services  which  he  expects  from 
them  are  concerned,  but  persons  of  good  reputation,  and  dis- 
posed to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  his  house. 

Decency. — Dignity  of  manners  at  home,  dignity  in  lan- 
guage, in  all  relationships,  ought  to  prevail.  This  is  only 
secured  by  self-respect. 

Peace. — The  pastor's  house  is  one  of  peace,  not  of  noise 
and  contest. 

*  The  struggle  between  seriousness  in  a  husband,  and  vanity  in 
his  wife,  is  well  portrayed  in  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield. 


208  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

Simplicity  at  the  tahle,  sohriety. — Let  not  the  suspicion  of 
intemperance  or  sensuality  approacli  the  pastor.  The  world 
looks  for  the  first  indications  of  those  vices  which  are  op- 
posed to  the  virtues  which  ought  to  characterize  him. 

IIosjntalifi/.-r-This  is  mentioned  by  St.  Paul  as  one  of  the 
virtues  especially  appropriate  to  a  bishop.  1  Tim.  iii.  2  :  Titus 
i.  8.  Hospitality  had,  at  that  time,  an  importance  which  it 
does  not  now  possess.  Not  to  mention  general  circumstances 
which  are  sufficiently  known,  Christianity  was  then  in  the 
condition  of  a  traveller :  both  zeal  and  persecution  made  the 
Church  unsettled,  so  far  as  locality  is  concerned ;  and,  more- 
over, the  condition  of  a  traveller,  even  if  he  were  rich,  was 
not  a  comfortable  one — to  the  poor  it  was  miserable.  Chris- 
tians are  praised  for  having  exercised  hospitality — widows  for 
having  washed  the  saints'  feet.*  1  Tim.  v.  10.  We  might 
quote  several  instances  of  this  duty  as  fulfilled  in  the  ancient 
Church — as  that  of  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  who  took  ApoUos 
to  their  own  house.    Acts  xviii.  2-13. 

If  any  thing  of  the  general  application  of  the  precept  yet 

*  See  the  Life  of  Martin  Boos,  p.  230.  "Two  young  ecclesiastics 
had  come  to  Gallneukirchen,  a  considerable  parish,  of  which  Boos 
was  then  (1811)  pastor.  Boos  saw  both  of  them  then  for  the  first 
time.  Scarcely  were  they  introduced  into  his  room  and  seated,  be- 
fore he  sent  for  a  basin  of  water,  and,  kneeling  before  the  strangers, 
loosened  their  shoes,  and  began  to  wash  their  feet,  saying  the  mean- 
while, '  It  is  written,  wash  the  saints'  feet ;'  and  in  spite  of  all  our  re- 
fusals and  protests,  (they  relate,)  he  accomplished  his  purpose." 

[It  is  clear  from  the  text  that  Vinet  does  not  adduce  this  case  of 
Boos  as  an  example  to  be  imitated  by  others — that  would  be  simply 
absurd.  The  spirit  of  humility  and  hospitality  is  ever  the  same ;  its 
mode  of  development  changes  with  the  varying  customs  of  society. 
Without  performing  the  formal  act,  we  may  still  say, 
"0  that  my  Lord  would  count  me  meet 
To  wash  his  dear  disciples'  feet!" 

— T.  0.  S.] 


RELATIVE    OR    SOCIAL    LIFE.  209 

remains,  somctliing  also  of  its  particular  application  to  pas- 
tors remains.  The  more  hospitality  is  neglected  or  evaded, 
the  more  ought  the  pastor  to  give  an  example  of  it,  without, 
however,  in  the  least  countenancing  the  useless  and  pernicious 
abuse  of  it  which  has  been  sometimes  sanctioned  in  the  name 
of  Christianity;  for  the  form  of  it  has  unquestionably  changed. 
I  should  wish  to  see  the  pastor  exercise  it  towards  the  honor- 
able poor  of  his  parish  with  discernment  and  prudence.  For 
the  rest,  I  do  not  see  that  it  is  more  than  a  general  virtue, 
of  which  he  ought  to  give  an  example  to  his  flock,  as  he 
ought  also  of  all  other  virtues — but  not  of  this  more  than 
other  virtues. 

Family  icorsldp. — We  need  not  prove  that  the  pastor's 
house  ought  to  furnish  an  example  and  a  model  of  this.  It 
should  not,  ordinarily,  be  so  extended  as  to  be  changed  into 
an  extra-domestic  worship.  The  meetings  for  religious  in- 
struction which  may  be  held  under  the  roof  of  the  manse, 
and  opened  to  neighbors  and  parishioners,  should  be 
separated  from  family  worship,  the  distinctive  features  of 
which  should  be  preserved.  Its  influence  may  fitly  harmonize 
with  and  complete  the  influence  of  public  worship. 

The  government  of  the  material  interests  of  the  parsonage 
(its  domestic  economy)  is  one  of  those  things  which  enforce 
upon  the  pastor  the  necessity  of  a  judicious  matrimonial 
choice  J  for  in  this  sphere  the  wife  possesses  the  greatest  in- 
fluence ;  and  it  is  very  important  that  the  pastor's  house 
should  be  well  governed ;  that  the  order  and  regularity  pre- 
vailing there  should  be  a  pattern  for  all ;  that  it  should  be 
recognized  as  Christian,  and  this  in  small  as  well  as  in  great 
matters.  Exactness,  punctuality,  if  they  are  not  themselves 
virtues,  may  become  so  by  means  of  the  principles  on  which 
they  are  exercised,  and  in  all  cases  they  arc  the  conditions 
of  more  than  one  virtue,  and  their  absence  will  involve  the 
loss  of  many.     In  evil  as  in  good,  the  exterior  reacts  on  the 


210  PASTOllAL    THEOLOGY. 

interior.  Negligence  brings  with  it  impatience,  irritation, 
disputes,  deceit,  injustice;  and,  moreover,  as  they  tempt 
others  to  deceive  us,  we  lead  them  into  sin.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  appear  good,  that  we  should  gain  the  repu-' 
tation  of  being  easily  duped ;  voluntary,  free,  intelligent 
goodness,  is  the  truest  goodness ;  and  this  it  is  especially 
which  wins  for  us  the  affection  of  others — why  then  should 
we  value  any  other?  We  need  hardly  mention  that  this 
exactness  is  quite  compatible  with  generosity,  and  that  it  need 
not  be  confounded  with  finesse.  We  will  desire  for  the  mis- 
tress of  the  parsonage  the  reputation  of  being  a  woman  of 
order,  but  not  of  being  a  woman  of  ingenuity  and  ability. 
Too  much  acuteness  and  shrewdness  is  undesirable.  I  would 
wish  her  ideal  to  be  that  of  the  virtuous  woman  described  in 
the  last  chapter  of  the  book  of  Proverbs,  and  that  of  the 
Christian  widows  of  which  Paul  speaks  to  Timothy,  or  the 
character  of  Martha  tempered  by  that  of  Mary.  Let  her 
also  know,  and  let  her  husband  also  assure  himself  well  of  it 
when  he  chooses  her,  that  there  is  not  only  more  happiness, 
but  more  dignity  and  more  prudence  in  giving  than  in  re- 
ceivins;. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  211 


THIRD     PART. 

PASTORAL     LIFE. 


niELlMINAllY   REFLECTIONS   ON   THE   CHOICE   OF   A  rARISII, 
AND   ON   CHANGES. 

TiTE  duties  of  a  pastor  refer  to  the  parish  as  a  whole,  or 
to  families  and  individuals ;  and  involve,  corresponding  to 
these  two  spheres,  public  icorslilj}  and  teaching,  and  the  care 
of  souls.  [He  also  has  relations]  with  the  Church  universal, 
[but  chiefly  as  a  Christian,  nothing  in  this  region  belonging 
especially  to  pastoral  life.] 

Before  looking  at  the  several  branches  of  this  office,  let  us 
look  at  the  office  itself  as  a  whole,  and  consider  the  minister 
at  the  moment  when  he  is  about  to  take  the  oversight  of  a 
]iarish.  At  present  I  do  not  distinguish  between  the  office 
of  a  suffragan  and  that  of  a  pastor.  I  shall  afterwards  speak 
more  particularly  of  the  suflPragan. 

As  there  is  a  vocation  for  the  ministry  in  general,  there  is 
one  also  for  every  particular  kind  of  ministry.  [Let  us  en- 
deavor to  ascertain  the  special  rules  for  guidance  on  this 
point.] 

The  Jirst  rule  is  not  to  regard  only  or  chiefly  personal  con- 
veniences or  inconveniences  in  this  matter,  but  the  amount 
of  strength,  the  kind  of  talent,  the  circumstances  of  the 
parish,  the  need  it  has  of  us  rather  than  of  any  other,  or  of 


212'  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

any  other  rather  than  us.  When  this  question  has  been  dis- 
posed of,  but  not  till  then,  we  may  consult  also  our  convenience 
and  special  interest.  I  will  not  say  that  the  pains  and 
dangers  which  we  may  foresee  are  the  seal  of  our  vocation  to 
it ;  but  that,  at  least  when  there  is  any  hesitation,  this  con- 
sideration may,  in  many  of  these  cases,  dismiss  it;  and  that, 
in  general,  we  ought  less  to  dread  a  post  which  promises  us 
diificulties  than  a  post  which  will  exempt  us  from  them. 

The  second  rule,  after  having  discarded  interested  motives, 
is  to  discard  also  all  considerations  which  are  not  taken  from 
the  nature  of  things,  from  interest  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  from  the  direct  and  indirect  instructions  of  the  Divine 
word.  In  this,  as  in  many  other  matters,  superstition,  indo- 
lence, [of  mind  and  conscience,]  and  arbitrary  maxims  have 
had  a  great  influence.  [Too  often  we  are  rather  disposed  to 
consult  these  counsellors  than  to  listen  to  God,  to  conscience, 
and  to  reason.] 

Many  have  adopted  the  plan  of  remaining  passive,  and 
have  recommended  it  to  others.  [In  order  that  we  may  not 
decide  unwisely,  say  they,  let  us  not  decide  at  all ;  let  us 
accept  whatever  is  offered  to  us.]  It  is  easy  to  understand 
how  any  man,  especially  a  Christian,  should  shrink  from 
making  a  decision  himself.  Not  one  of  his  determinations 
can  be  dissevered  from  a  long  series  of  consequences,  impos- 
sible to  be  estimated  or  foreseen,  and  often  as  grave  as  the 
causes  of  them  are  small.  [The  Christian  also  knows  how 
liable  he  is  to  be  deceived ;  he  knows  this  better  than  any 
other  man ;  he  <'  knows  that  the  way  of  man  is  not  in  him- 
self." Jer.  X.  23.]  Bengel  says,  on  this  point,  "  The  less 
of  his  own  that  an  instrument  of  God  allows,  and  the  more 
he  leaves  God  to  act  himself,  the  more  pure  and  complete 
will  his  action  be."*     It  is  true  that  self-renunciation  is  very 

*  Bengel's  Lebcn,  by  Burk,  p.  145. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  213 

useful,  that  it  is  dangerous  to  use  the  will  when  considerations 
of  interest  mix  themselves  up  with  those  of  duty.  But  we 
must  be  cautious  lest,  while  wc  think  wc  are  making  a  sacri- 
fice to  humility,  we  arc  in  reality  presenting  an  oblation  to 
indolence.  It  is  true,  also,  that  wherever  we  arc  so  far 
brought  before  the  view  of  men  that  they  can  form  their 
opinion  concerning  us,  and  where  existing  institutions  allow 
them  thus  to  invite  us  without  any  interference  on  our  part, 
it  is  a  great  privilege  to  be  called  without  any  personal  obtru- 
sion of  ourselves ;  and  that,  in  all  cases,  it  is  better  not  to 
take  any  step  at  all,  than  to  act  without  the  fullest  convic- 
tion— a  conviction  which,  iu  questions  of  this  kind,  it  is  not 
easy  to  obtain.  In  ecclesiastical  constitutions  passivity  is 
cspeciall}^  impossible;  and  where  it  is  possible,  I  do  not  think 
it  should  be  adopted,  except  in  special  cases.  Passivity  in 
Christian  life  is  the  exception,  not  the  rule. 

[Jesus  Christ  wished  to  raise  Christian  obedience  to  the 
very  greatest  degree  of  spontaneity,  and  to  exalt  to  the  high- 
est possible  power  the  individual  element,  which  had  been 
restrained  and  compressed  under  Judaism.  We  are  only  al- 
lowed to  wait  passively  when  the  exercise  of  liberty  is  im- 
possible ;  and  even  in  this  voluntary  submission  there  is  still 
some  Christian  liberty.  This  principle,  which  was  forgotten 
till  the  sixteenth  century,  gives  to  Protestantism  a  character 
of  seriousness  ;  and  if  wc  ought  to  rejoice  at  that  restora- 
tion of  gospel  truth  which  then  occurred,  and  with  it  the  resto- 
ration of  personal  liberty  and  responsibility,  our  joy  must  yet 
be  with  trembling.]  But  if  the  impossibility  of  foreseeing 
and  calculating  the  results  of  each  action  must  hinder  us 
from  acting,  then  plainly  we  shall  be  for  ever  inactive. 

"What  is  prescribed  is  not  inactivity,  but  that  wc  should 
purify  our  intention  by  prayer,  and  not  act  without  full  con- 
viction, Kom.  xiv.  23;  that  we  should  not  substitute  our 
own  will  for  a  higher  will — the  will  of  God — by  acting  in 


214  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

opposition  to  the  natural  course  of  events;  lastly,  that  we 
should  not  employ,  in  order  to  obtain  the  position  which  we 
desire,  any  intrigue  or  simony.  There  are  very  subtle  forms 
of  these  sins,  which,  however,  will  not  deceive  any  upright 
conscience.  It  is  hardly  necessary — indeed  it  is  not  pos- 
sible— to  indicate  all  the  various  disguises  which  they  may 
assume.*  Among  us  the  former  law  shut  out  all  opportunity 
of  simony,  by  making  promotion  to  depend  on  seniority; 
the  new  law  has  not  very  much  extended  the  opportunities 
for  it ;  this  is  the  advantage  which  is  purchased  by  the  in- 
convenience of  not  being  able  to  employ  each  according  to 
his  capacity,  nor  to  aid  each  parish  according  to  its  necessity. 

But  having  made  these  reserves,  we  will  adopt  the  formula 
of  Harms:  ''When  in  my  own  judgment,  and  that  of  com- 
petent persons,  I  have  the  talent  required  for  a  post,  and  I 
feel  able,  by  the  help  of  God,  to  discharge  its  requirement 
completely,  then  I  openly  and  freely  offer  my  services,  and 
make  use  of  all  legitimate  and  honest  means  in  order  to  se- 
cure it."f 

The  principle  of  passivity  appears  to  have  prevailed  in  the 
first  age  of  the  Church.  [Not  only  do  we  find  in  these  times 
compulsory  ordination,  but  also  we  find  invitation  to  a  par- 
ticular position  accepted  without  a  word  being  spoken  in  ex- 
planation :  to  dispense  with  any  examination  was  even  con- 
sidered a  virtue.]  The  principle  was  well  understood;  its 
opposite  was  never  entertained.  Circumstances,  however, 
have  changed.  Yet  let  us  observe  that  with  altered  circum- 
stances the  principle  may  reappear ;  it  has  reappeared,  though 
with  restrictions,  in  missionary  work,  which  is  very  similar  to 
the  work  of  the  first  propagators  of  Christianity.     [Wherever 

*  Ben  gel  insists  so  strongly  on  the  purity  of  a  vocation,  that  he 
excludes  from  it  all  who  have  been  influenced  in  their  choice  by  the 
wishes  of  near  relations. 

f  Pastor allheologic,  iii.,  217. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  215 

lieroism  is  necessary,  obedience  is  also  demanded;  the  first 
thing  which  has  to  be  broken  is  the  will,  in  its  most  delicate 
and  susceptible  working.] 

The  question  may  be  put :  When  an  immediate  vocation  is 
given  by  our  natural  superiors,  we  ourselves  having  con- 
tributed nothing  to  it,  are  we  under  obligation  to  obey  in 
all  such  cases  ?  [Even  in  this  case  we  may  refuse,  though 
not  without  very  strong  reasons.  Here  the  legitimate  pre- 
sumption is  in  favor  of  compliance.  AVe  must,  then,  ex- 
amine the  case  seriously,  and  only  refuse  when  our  obligation 
to  do  so  is  fully  apparent.  We  could  not,  however,  admit 
the  opinion  expressed  by  Dr.  Schclussner.]  "  My  beloved 
Professor  Polycarp  Leyser  has  strongly  recommended  me," 
he  &ays,  "  to  refuse  no  regular  call ;  for  he  says  that  God 
punishes  those  who  thus  transgress,  either  by  taking  them 
from  the  world  before  the  end  of  the  year,  or  in  causing 
them  to  lose  their  gifts,  or  in  allowing  them  to  fall  into  some 
snare."* 

The  third  rule  is,  to  assure  ourselves  of  the  dispositions  of 
the  parish  concerning  us,  and  not  impose  ourselves  upon 
them  against  their  will.  A  conscientious  minister  of  delicate 
feelings  will  recognize,  on  his  own  account,  the  right  of  a 
parish  to  share  in  the  choice  of  its  pastor.  If  he  is  not  ex- 
actly desired,  still  he  ought,  at  least,  to  be  made  welcome. 
This  is  only  a  general  rule,  and  admits  of  modifications. 
For,  if  we  think  that  a  parish  will  be  injured  by  our  exclu- 
sion ;  if  we  have  reason  to  think  that  our  presence  will  easily 
and  speedily  dissipate  the  prejudices  which  have  been  formed 
against  us,  it  is,  perhaps,  our  duty  to  front  those  prejudices. 

The  fourth  rule  is,  not  lightly  to  change  one  post  for  an- 
other. If  the  pastor  is  doing  good,  if  he  is  blessed  in  the 
position  which  he  occupies,  if  it  is  sufl&cient  for  him,  these 

*  Burk's  rastoralthcologie  in  Beixpiclen,  vol.  i.,  p.  98. 


216  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

are  the  great  points.  He  must  not  allow  himself,  too  readily, 
to  entertain  schemes  by  which  he  may  invest  all  his  faculties 
to  greater  advantage,  and  do  more  good.  He  must  not  so 
easily  be  induced  to  leave  a  place  to  which  he  is  adapted. 
Some  very  powerful  consideration  ought  to  be  required  in 
order  to  move  him — the  want,  the  danger  of  another  parish. 
He  must,  before  he  leaves,  have  heard  the  cry,  "  Come  over 
into  Macedonia  and  help  us."     Acts  xvi.  9. 

Sometimes,  also,  after  having  passed  a  certain  time  in  one 
position,  where  he  has  done  good,  where  he  may  yet  do  more 
good,  the  minister  will  recognize  the  fact,  that,  after  Paul 
has  planted,  ApoUos  must  water :  he  may  be  less  suited  to 
carry  on  than  to  commence  the  work.  His  part  is,  so  to 
speak,  finished ;  he  cannot  carry  it  on  further ;  it  must  grow 
under  other  hands.  However,  I  believe  that  a  true  Christian 
is  developed  with  and  by  his  work,  and  that  new  develop- 
ments of  his  own  interior  life  will  respond  to  the  new  needs 
which  his  activity  has  occasioned.  If  it  is  thus,  there  can 
be  no  greater  advantage  for  the  parish  than  that  he  should 
stay;  as  Thomas  Adam,  at  Wintringham,  which  was  his  first 
and  last  parish,  and  where  he  remained  fifty  years.  [In  the 
Wesleyan  community,  a  pastor  does  not  remain  more  than 
three  years  in  the  same  locality,  in  order  that  his  tendencies 
may  not  become  too  deeply  rooted  in  minds  which  become 
strongly  attached  to  him.]* 

[*  In  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  the  term  is  limited  to  two 
years  ;  though  an  extension  of  the  term  is  desired  by  many,  while  some 
would  prefer  to  have  no  other  limitation  than  the  discretion  of  the  ap- 
pointing power,  exercised  in  view  of  the  expressed  wishes  of  the  pastor 
and  of  the  people.  Watson,  in  his  Life  of  Wesley,  speaking  of  the 
"Deed  of  Declaration,"  says,  "In  this  important  and  wise  settle- 
ment of  the  government  of  the  Connection  by  its  founder,  there 
appears  but  one  regulation  which  seems  to  controvert  that  leading 
maxim  to  which  he  had  always  respect,  namely,  to  be  guided  by  cir- 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  217 

These  grand  epochs  in  life  ought  to  be  solemnized:  the 
day  when  a  pastor  undertakes  the  direction  of  a  parish  ought 
not  to  pass  Hke  an  ordinary  day.  It  is  there  that  he,  as  it 
were,  first  assumes  his  military  equipment ;  and  he  should 
supplicate  the  panoply  which  is  required  for  the  servant  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  be  clothed  with  the  whole  armor  of  God, 
as  St.  Paul  recommends  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Ephcsians. 
Eph.  vi.  11-17. 

He  ought,  also,  to  be  very  careful  concerning  his  entrance 
into  relations  with  his  parish  or  the  public.  His  first  sermon 
should  be  scrupulously  guarded,  disclosing  his  chief  tenden- 
cies of  thought,  and,  if  possible,  his  entire  personality,  an- 
nouncing himself  with  modesty  and  frankness.  However, 
he  must  not  speak  of  himself  more  than  is  necessary. 

Here  he  should  take  account  of  the  pastoral  dispositions 
which  he  is  now  to  bring  into  full  and  permanent  action. 
What  are  they  ? 

1.  The  spirit  of  humility,  which  docs  not  consist  in  self- 
depreciation,  in  despising  that  which  we  have,  but  in  desir- 
ing to  be  nothing  in  ourselves,  in  regarding  each  as  more  ex 
cellent  than  we,  in  knowing  how  to  accept  and  suffer  injustice 
without  remonstrance.  [The  more  a  pastor  is  content  that 
he  himself  should  appear  insignificant  in  order  that  God  may 
be  exalted,  the  more  authority  he  has.     The  more  he  is  freed 

cumstances  in  matters  not  determined  by  some  great  principle.  I 
allude  to  the  proviso  which  obliges  the  Conference  not  to  appoint  any 
preacher  to  the  same  chapel  for  more  than  three  years  successively; 
thus  binding  an  itinerant  ministry  upon  the  societies  for  ever, 
Whether  this  system  of  changing  ministers  be  essential  to  the  spirit- 
u.al  interests  of  the  body  or  not,  or  whether  it  might  not  be  usefully 
modified,  will  be  matters  of  opinion  ;  but  the  point  ought,  perhaps, 
to  have  been  left  more  at  liberty."  Such  a  modification  of  the  itin- 
erancy as  would  not  destroy  its  aggressive  power,  and  yet  would  se- 
cure the  prominent  advantages  of  a  settled  pastorate,  is  the  crux 
question  ia  Church  polity. — T.  0.  S.] 


218  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

from  self-seeking,  the  more  will  lie  feel  the  grandeur  of  his 
ministry.*] 

2.  The  sjnrit  of  modesty  and  moderation. — The  pastor 
must  prepare  for  the  extraordinary,  and  yet  be  content  with 
the  ordinary;  he  must  not  project  great  external  things,  nor 
despise  the  day  of  small  beginnings  ;  he  must  walk  with  the 
lowly,  avoid  the  spirit  of  the  innovator,  weigh  well  his  foot- 
steps ;  moving,  as  far  as  possible,  in  the  path  already  trodden 
by  his  predecessors,  according  to  the  words  of  Moses,  ''Ask 
now  of  the  days  that  are  past,  which  were  before  thee,"  (Deut. 
iv.  32,)  and  those  of  Jeremiah,  "  Stand  ye  in  the  ways,  and 
see,  and  ask  for  the  old  paths."  Jer.  vi.  16.  This  does  not 
mean,  fetter  yourselves  to  the  past,  do  not  perfect,  do  not  re- 
form, do  not  begin  any  thing :  it  only  means,  do  not  lightly 
repudiate  traditional  usages;  do  not,  without  good  reason, 
forsake  what  has  been  established ;  let  there  be  an  antece- 
dently probable  legitimacy  for  whatever  exists ;  let  continu- 
ance be  the  rule,  and  change  the  exception. 

3.  The  martial  and  the  peaceable  sjm'it. — The  martial 
spirit  is  essential  to  the  ministry  and  the  profession  of  Chris- 
tianity. We  must,  as  Jesus  Christ,  kindle  a  fire,  and  even 
feel  a  holy  impatience  till  it  is  kindled ;  we  bring  not  peace, 
but  a  sword ;  we  cast  into  the  midst  of  mankind  a  leaven 
that  must  be  one  of  bitterness.  The  exterior  may  deceive 
us,  but  it  must  not  determine  our  judgment,  or  our  point  of 
view.  Even  in  the  midst  of  peace,  with  the  guarantees  for 
it  incorporated  into  our  civil  institutions,  and  rooted  in  the 
very  soil  of  our  existence,  we  must  still  act  as  if  they  were 
not ;  for  all  this  may  not  last,  may  perhaps  disappear,  at  least 

*  See  Port-Royal,  by  M.  Sainte-Beuve,  vol.  i.,  p.  464,  [on  the  re- 
markable authority  possessed  by  M.  Singlin,  the  guardian  of  the 
consciences  of  those  residing  in  that  Establishment.  His  humility 
was  the  source  of  his  authority ;  for  his  reliance  was  on  God,  and  on 
God  alone.] 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  219 

for  us,  on  the  morrow.  In  spite  of  all  appearances,  Chris- 
tianity, when  it  is  living  and  assumes  its  characteristic  fea- 
tures, is  always  a  stranger  and  an  alien.  We  must  have  our 
reins  girt  about,  for  this  peace  is  only  a  respite,  a  truce  j  we 
must  stretch  the  bow  for  a  far  more  distant  mark  than  that 
which  seems  to  be  presented  to  us.  "  He  teacheth  our  hands 
to  war,  and  our  fingers  to  fight."  Psalm  cxliv.  1.  The  mar- 
tial spirit  is  then  necessary,  but  the  peaceable  spirit  is  also. 
The  pastor  must  not  attack  his  parishioners  as  though  they 
were  adversaries ;  he  must  not  treat  any  as  an  adversary  till 
he  is  proved  to  be  such ;  he  should  treat  his  flock  as  a  flock, 
as  a  family,  and  assume  a  relation  of  benevolence  in  all  his 
dealings  with  them,  [Let  the  pastor  begin  with  the  pre- 
sumption that  he  is  beloved.  Nothing  is  so  injurious  to  his 
position  as  a  defensive  posture.  Those  who  hate  him,  or  who 
wish  to  attack  him,  will  perhaps  bo  disarmed  by  his  con- 
fidence, kindness,  and  candor.] 

4.  A  spirit  of  devotedness  to  the  parish,  for  which  he 
ought  to  be  ready  to  give  his  life,  both  for  the  individuals 
and  for  the  parish  as  a  whole — as  in  certain  difiicult  circum- 
stances, epidemics,  war,  etc.  "Ye  are  in  our  hearts  to  die 
and  live  with  you."  2  Cor.  vii.  3.  [It  is  better  to  give  up 
the  ministry  than  to  neglect  any  of  its  objects.] 

Let  us  consider  some  general  duties  of  the  pastor  on  his 
entrance  upon  his  duties. 

First,  as  to  residence. — [Among  us  the  law  has,  to  a  great 
extent,  provided  for  this,  by  determining  that  a  pastor  shall 
live  in  his  parish ;  but  this  does  not  prevent  frequent  and 
prolonged  absence.  This  should  be  guarded  against ;  there 
are  pastors  who  are  more  ready  to  be  anywhere  than  at  home, 
lie  must  avoid  all  occasions  for  religious  distraction.] 

Secondly :  Regularity  and  ji^omjititude  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duties. — We  sometimes  find  ministers  who  are  con- 
tinually either  lamenting  or  joking  over  the  number  and 


220  PASTORAL   THEOLOGY. 

arduous  cliaracter  of  tlieir  duties,  obtruding  their  remarks  on 
these  subjects  upon  every  one.  This  is  in  very  bad  taste, 
and  should  be  avoided.  Delays  should  not  be  allowed,  for 
they  may,  in  certain  cases,  be  attended  with  pernicious  con- 
sequences. We  may  apply  to  success  and  prosperity  in  the 
ministry  the  words,  "Yet  a  little  sleep,  a  little  slumber,  a 
little  folding  of  the  hands  to  sleep  :  so  shall  thy  poverty 
come  as  one  that  travelleth,  and  thy  want  as  an  armed  man." 
Prov.  vi.  10,  11. 

The  minister,  then,  ought  to  be  constantly  equipped  for 
the  duty  of  his  ministry,  "Meditate  on  these  things" — on 
the  duties  of  the  ministry — says  Paul  to  Timothy;  "give 
thyself  wholly  to  them."  1  Tim.  iv.  15.  [It  would  be  de- 
plorable to  have  a  ruling  taste  outside  the  ministry,  and  to 
place  the  ministry  in  the  second  rank.]  The  minister's  is  a 
sad  position  when  his  ministry  is  not  his  life.  If  a  man  can 
only  give  himself  entirely  to  a  ministry  which  he  loves,  he 
can  also  only  love  it  when  he  gives  himself  entirely  to  it. 
[Nothing  so  much  attaches  the  minister  and  his  flock  to  one 
another  as  the  sacrifices  which  he  makes  for  them.] 

In  order  that  he  may  give  himself  entirely  to  his  ministry, 
he  must  simplify  his  life,  discard  all  that  alienates  him  from 
his  duties,  all  that  is  not  conducive  to  the  success  of  his 
work,  all  worldly  cares — Matt.  vi.  31,  32 ;  Lukexxi.  34:  even 
those  which  are  compatible  with  the  ministry,  but  are  not 
essential  to  it,  and  which  the  minister  may  appropriately 
commit  to  the  care  of  others.    Acts  vi.  2. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  221 


SECTION  THE  FIRST. 

WORSHIP. 


So  far  as  tlic  question  is  practical  and  local,  wo  have  here 
little  to  say.  But  this  is  not  the  only  point  of  view  which 
we  may  assume  ;  even  where  the  duty  and  the  form  it  shall 
assume  arc  both  prescribed,  it  is  useful  to  ascend  to  first 
principles,  and  in  this  way  to  penetrate  into  the  true  spirit 
of  duty — a  spirit  which  can  only  be  found  in  the  principle, 
and  not  in  any  lower  point  of  view. 

Worship  is  the  most  immediate  expression,  the  directly 
religious  form  of  religion.  It  is  the  interior  or  exterior  act 
of  adoration — adoration  in  act;  and  adoration  is  nothing  less 
than  the  direct  and  solemn  recognition  of  the  being  and 
presence  of  God,  and  of  our  obligations  towards  him. 

Public  icorship,  otherwise  called  Divine  service,  compre- 
hends, according  to  the  usual  mode  of  regarding  it,  all  that 
occupies  the  time  during  which  an  assembly  is  united  in  the 
name  and  for  the  cause  of  God.  According  to  this  idea, 
therefore,  worship  also  includes  exhortation,  or  instruction, 
or  the  exposition  of  God's  word ;  however,  this  act  is  rather 
appended  to  worship  than  a  constituent  part  of  it.  Only 
when  wc  generalize  the  idea  of  worsliij),  and  make  it  embrace 
all  that  has  God  for  its  object,  all  that  is  by  our  intention  re- 


222  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

lated  to  God,  only  then  can  we  call  preaching,  or  the  teaching 
of  religious  truths,  xoorsMj)^  and  that  not  more  nor  less  than 
every  good  work.  "Adoration,"  according  to  Klopstock,  as 
quoted  by  Harms,  "  is  the  essential  element  in  public  wor- 
ship ;  the  teaching  and  exhortation  of  the  minister,  notwith- 
standing their  great  utility,  are  not  elements  of  so  essential  a 
character."*  Let  us  here  add  that,  in  a  religious  system  in 
which  there  is  no  longer  any  priest,  where  one  man  is  only 
symbolically  a  mediator  between  God  and  man,  the  minister 
is  rather  the  director  of  worship  than  its  exclusive  agent,  2 
Cor.  iv.  5 ;  the  people,  from  our  point  of  view,  may,  and  per- 
haps, to  a  certain  extent,  should  be  active  in  worship.  1  Cor. 
xiv.  16.  It  is  a  remarkable  thing  that  passivity  should  be 
the  rule  in  our  worship,  and  activity  in  the  Catholic  worship. 

Worship  consists  in  words,  or  in  silent  acts,  rites;  more 
generally  in  the  combination  of  both.  We  cannot  easily 
represent  to  ourselves  a  silent  public  worship — as  little  can 
we  conceive  of  a  worship  consisting  entirely  of  words,  with- 
out rites  or  symbols.  It  is  important  to  give  a  body  to  the 
fundamental  sentiments  and  ideas  of  religion.  Life  can  no 
more  dispense  with  symbols  than  language  with  metaphors ; 
a  rite  is  a  metaphor  in  action.  Worship  is  an  action ;  so 
indeed  it  is  called  in  German.  Action  is  nearest  to  life — it 
has  a  closer  affinity  of  resemblance  than  ever  words  have. 
"  Segnius  ■irritant  animos  demtssa  per  aurem" — what  passes 
through  the  ear  more  slowly  reaches  the  heart.-j"  [Doubtless, 
worship  would  be  an  action  even  though  expressed  neither 
by  rites  nor  by  words  ;  but  when  the  object  is  to  move  others, 
and  to  be  moved  ourselves,  something  more  than  an  internal 
silence  is  necessary.] 

What  is  the  characteristic  of  speech  as  compared  with 

*  Die  unierriclitcnde  Ermahnung. 
f  Horace,  Ars  Poeiica,  v.  180. — Ed. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  223 

ritual  observance  ?  Speccli  is  successive ;  the  act  of  worship 
presents  simultaneously  many  ideas  or  relations.  Speech 
analyzes,  divides ;  silent  ritual  ceremonies  concentrate  the 
thouuht.  The  whole  gospel  has,  as  in  a  focus,  been  concen- 
trated into  the  symbolic  act  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  A  rite 
not  only  speaks  of  what  is  essential,  but  it  does  so  with  a 
force  which  does  not  belong  to  mere  words.* 

Worship,  composed  of  rites  and  words,  is  more  distinct 
than  contemplation,  less  so  than  discourse.  Contemplation 
is  synthesis,  discourse  is  analysis ;  worship,  which  compre- 
hends both  speech  and  contemplation,  unites  synthesis  and 
analysis,  and  cannot  exclude  either  without  suffering  mutila- 
tion. It  aims,  in  its  whole  effect,  harmoniously  to  elevate  all 
the  faculties  of  the  soul  into  the  sphere  of  truth,  (which 
truth  is  not  a  formula,  but  the  substance  of  a  formula.)  It 
is  somewhat  akin  to  song ;  it  has  the  characteristic  of  song, 
which,  moreover,  is  an  essential  part  of  it,  for  adoration  is  a 
state  of  the  soul  which  can  only  be  expressed  by  song. 
Worship  is  the  cooperation  and  consent  of  all  the  elements 
of  our  being  in  one  purely  religious  act. 

I  do  not  exclude  worship  by  words ;  but  I  would  wish  them 
to  be  symbolic  and  sacramental  like  the  other  elements  of 
worship.  Words,  at  once  human  and  prescribed,  do  not 
seem  to  me  to  realize  the  idea  of  a  liturgy.  If  human 
speech  must  be  introduced,  I  should  prefer  it  to  be  free  and 
individual.  In  some  reformed  Churches,  the  prayer  imme- 
diately preceding  the  discourse  is  usually  made  by  the  pastor, 
and  it  is  left  to  his  own  discretion,  either  always  to  use  the 
same  form  or  to  vary  it  according  to  circumstances. 

The  Romish  worship  is  faulty  in  consisting  too  largely  of 
rites,  and,  in  its  rites,  too  much  of  traditions ;  but,  unless  the 

*  Rite  is  to  doctrine  what  song  is  to  speech :  less  distinct,  but 
more  vivid. 


224  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

liturgy  prescribes  otherwise,  its  service  consists  chiefly  of  song, 
which  is  a  good  feature  in  it ;  and,  moreover,  the  form  of 
worship  is  with  it  a  form  of  faith  and  doctrine,  as  is  every 
other  part  of  its  system.  Our  worship,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
too  much  a  confession  of  faith,  a  discourse ;  every  thing  is 
articulate,  precise,  explicit.  The  effect  of  this  tendency  is 
carried  so  far  as  to  determine  the  idea  which  we  attach  to 
the  word  temple.  [The  temple  is  for  us  an  auditory ;  we 
enter  it  in  order  that  we  may  listen  to  something  spoken. 
But]  is  it  then  only  in  connection  with  the  dogma  of  the  real 
presence  that  Catholic  temples  ought  truly  to  be  temples  ?* 
Does  the  characteristic  of  Catholic  worship  belong  only  to 
that  in  it  which  is  theurgic — which  brings  God  sensibly  be- 
fore the  worshipper  ?  Must  worship,  in  order  that  it  may  be 
effective,  be  considered  a  miracle  ?  [How  shall  he  find  the 
required  remedy  ?  As]  one  excess  is  seldom  corrected  ex- 
cept by  another  excess,  [we  will  say  that  our  liturgy  wants, 
what  would  otherwise  be  a  defect,  more  vagueness — a  greater 
commingling  of  religious  ideas,  which  might  be  effected  with- 
out destroying  their  efficiency  as  expressions  of  Christian  faith 
and  life.]  Preaching  is  an  addition  to  worship,  and  is  not 
itself  worship.  Harms  is  not  wrong  in  proposing  hours  of 
worship  in  which  preaching  shall  not  be  introduced.  This 
would  not  tend  to  disparage  preaching,  but  to  set  a  higher 
estimate  on  worship. f 

So  far  as  we  can  judge  of  the  worship  of  the  primitive 
Church,  it  must  have  held  a  medium  course  between  these 
two  extremes.     We  find  in  it  nothing  of  the  apprehensive 

*  Temples,  i.  e.,  for  contemplation. 

■f  Harms,  vol.  ii.,  p.  123. 

[This  would  be  realized  in  our  prayer-meetings,  were  they  more 
generally  attended.  This  matter  is  not  sufiBciently  regarded  by 
pastors.— T.  0.  S.] 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  225 

punctiliousness  of  a  confession  of  faith,  and  no  such  profusion 
of  rites  as  the  Romish  Church  adopts. 

Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles  seem  to  have  cared  less  to 
establish  a  new  mode  of  worship  than  to  abolish  the  old  one, 
or  at  least  to  destroy  the  erroneous  notions  relative  to  the 
intrinsic  value  of  "bodily  exercise,  which  profitcth  little." 
1  Tim.  iv.  8.  They  have  abolished  directly,  but  have  only 
indirectly  and  tacitly  established.  New  things  have  rather 
been  born  than  established.  The  doctrine  alone  has  been 
established,  and  that  in  a  corresponding  way ;  it  is  born  in 
the  heart. 

See  John  iv.  23,  24,  (worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth ;)  also 
all  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  which  seems  to  substitute  a 
religion  for  a  culfus.  Col.  ii.  16:  "Let  no  man,  therefore, 
judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  a  holy  day, 
or  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  Sabbath  days."  Horn.  xiv.  17 : 
"The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteous- 
ness, and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

[Preaching  is  introduced  with  the  gospel ;  but  it  does  not 
supersede  a  cultus.  Our  speech  is  a  prism  to  analyze  the 
rays  of  light,  but  this  decomposition  should  be  only  in  trans- 
ition to  a  higher  state.] 

Moreover,  consider  the  ritual  elements  mentioned  in  the 
New  Testament. 

The  Lord's  day. — The  primitive  Church  had  a  consecrated 
day — the  day  of  the  resurrection  of  our  Saviour.  [The  Sab- 
bath is  abolished,  but  Sunday  is  sacred.  It  has  not  been 
added  to  Christianity ;  it  is  born  with  it.  God  blessed  the 
seventh  day  and  sanctified  it.  This  was  the  blessing  on  his 
work — the  crowning  of  it.  Sunday  actualizes  Christianity, 
gives  to  it  a  moment  in  time,  as  the  temple  gives  it  a  locality 
in  space.  Its  true  law  is  an  internal  necessity,  which  is  a 
loftier  authority  than  a  written  statute.  This  necessity  de- 
termines the  mode  of  its  celebration.  Nothing  gives  so  strong 
8 


226  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY, 

a  constraint  as  Christian  liberty  and  conscientiousness ;  these 
have  consecrated  one  day,  which  ought,  therefore,  to  be 
holy.] 

Assemblies. — Heb.  x.  25  :  "Not  forsaking  the  assembling 
of  ourselves  together,  as  the  manner  of  some  is."  1  Cor.  xiv. 
26,  40  :  "How  is  it  then,  brethren  ?  when  ye  come  together, 
every  one  of  you  hath  a  psalm,  hath  a  doctrine,  hath  a  tongue, 
hath  a  revelation,  hath  an  interpretation.  Let  all  things  be 
done  unto  edifying.  .  .  .  Let  all  things  be  done  decently  and 
in  order."  James  ii.  1-3  :  (treatment  of  rich  and  poor.) 
1  Cor.  xi.  4,  5  :  "Every  man  praying  or  prophesying,  having 
his  head  covered,  dishonoreth  his  head.  But  every  woman 
that  prayeth  or  prophesieth  with  her  head  uncovered  dis- 
honoreth her  head ;  for  that  is  even  all  one  as  if  she  were 
shaven  ;"  and  1  Cor.  xi.,  passim,  as  to  the  mode  of  employing 
the  time  in  these  assemblies. 

The  Passover. — Matt.  xxvi. :  Luke  xxii. :  1  Cor.  v.  7,  8  : 
"  Christ  our  passover  is  sacrificed  for  us :  therefore  let  us 
keep  the  feast,  not  with  old  leaven,  neither  with  the  leaven  of 
malice  and  wickedness;  but  with  the  unleavened  bread  of 
sincerity  and  truth."  1  Cor.  xi.  23-29,  gives  directions  for 
the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

Singing. — Mark  xiv.  26 :  "And  when  they  had  sung  an 
hymn,  they  went  out  into  the  Mount  of  Olives."  Eph.  v. 
19 :  "  Speaking  to  yourselves  in  psalms  and  h3'mns  and 
spiritual  songs,  singing  and  making  melody  in  your  heart  to 
the  Lord." 

Rites  which  do  not  seem  to  have  formed  part  of  ordinary 
worship : — 

Baptism. — John  iii.  22:  "Jesus  came,  and  his  disciples, 
into  the  land  of  Judea ;  and  there  he  tarried  with  them  and 
baptized."  Acts  viii.  36-38,  the  baptism  of  the  eunuch  of 
Queen  Candaee.  Acts  ii.  41 :  "They  that  gladly  received 
his  word  were  baptized."     Acts  x.  46-48  :  "Then  answered 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  227 

Peter,  Can  any  man  forbid  water,  that  these  shouUl  not  bo 
baptized,  which  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  we? 
And  he  commanded  them  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord."  Acts  xvi.  33:  "He  (the  jailer)  washed  their 
stripes,  (those  of  Paul  and  Silas,)  and  was  baptized,  he  and 
all  his." 

Anointing. — James  v.  14:  "Is  any  sick  among  you?  let 
him  call  for  the  elders  of  the  Church  ;  and  let  them  pray  over 
him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord."  Com- 
pare Mark  vi.  13. 

The  imposition  of  hands. — Acts  xiv.  23  :  "And  when  they 
.  .  ,  had  prayed  with  fasting,  they  commended  them  to  the 
Lord."  2  Cor.  viii.  19:  2  Tim.  i.  6:  "I  put  thee  in  re- 
membrance that  thou  stir  up  the  gift  of  God,  which  is  in 
thee  by  the  putting  on  of  my  hands."  1  Tim.  iv.  14 : 
"  Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee,  which  was  given  thee 
by  prophecy,  with  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  pres- 
bytery."* 

The  imposition  of  hands  was  then,  at  that  time,  more  than 
a  symbol ;  it  was  an  act  to  which  was  attached  a  supernatural 
efficacy. 

It  is  to  be  remarked,  that,  in  all  these  cases,  we  see  much 
more  of  the  body  of  believers  than  of  their  chief.  We  do 
not  find  that,  in  these  assemblies,  one  man  was  all,  and  did 
all. 

Leaving  now  all  discussions  and  all  parallels,  and  placing 
ourselves  in  the  Protestant  stand-point,  let  us  enumerate  the 
characteristics  which  ought  to  belong  to  a  worship  in  spirit 
and  in  truth.     The  liturgy  ought, 

*  On  all  these  details  see  Fleury's  Mauners  of  the  Primitive  Chris- 
<  i:\ns;  and  Vullicmin's  First  Three  Centuries  of  the  Christian  Church, 
Book  ii.,  chaps,  i.  and  ii. 


228  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

1.  To  give  expression  to  religion — the  whole  of  religion; 
to  give  it  compendiously  and  comprehensively,  not  in  abridg- 
ment. [Abridgment  divides,  while  a  summary  combines  and 
incorporates  the  different  elements  of  an  idea  or  a  fact.  In 
one  sense,  religion  has  no  parts,  and  cannot  be  divided. 
Every  hour  of  worship  ought  to  present  the  whole  of  Jesus 
Christ  to  the  soul  of  the  believer.] 

2.  It  ought  to  express  religion  under  a  form  most  adapted 
to  all  [in  symbols  and  words.  All  should  be  rapidly  compre- 
hended and  vividly  grasped.  For  symbols,  Christ  has  given 
us  a  model  in  the  simple  beauty  of  baptism  and  the  supper. 
To  attain  this  end,  we  need,  above  all  things,  a  biblical  wor- 
ship.] 

3.  It  should  be  of  such  a  character  as  can  best  admonish 
and  elevate  the  soul,  not  distract  or  amuse  it.  The  rites 
should  be  few,  but  simple  and  significant.  [Some  character- 
istics of  other  modes  of  worship  might,  with  advantage,  be 
introduced  into  our  liturgy.  The  litany,  for  example,  may 
appear  ridiculous ;  but  it  has,  fundamentally,  something  which 
represents  the  simplest  state  of  a  soul  prostrate  before  God. 
The  Christian  ought  to  be  a  little  child,  and,  consequently, 
to  speak  in  the  language  of  a  little  child.  The  more  simple, 
the  more  infantile  the  means  are,  the  better  are  they.  The 
litany  has  in  it  something  that  is  infantile,  and  in  this  consists 
its  excellence — its  truthfulness.  Every  liturgy  ought  to  have 
in  it  something  lyric] 

4.  A  liturgy  should  be  framed,  as  to  its  extent,  to  meet 
the  wants  of  the  greatest  number,  should  harmonize  with  the 
general  character  of  worship,  which  is  admiration,  and  is  in- 
tended to  support  the  soul  in  an  unaccustomed  height,  above 
its  ordinary  level.  Immediately  this  just  measure  is  past, 
fatigue  begins. 

The  element  of  antiquity,  which  adds  gravity  even  to  a 
liturgy  which  is  composed  of  sacred  elements,  much  more 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  229 

adds  gravity  to  a  liturgy,  the  composition  of  whicli  is  essen- 
tially human.  It  ought  not,  therefore,  to  be  revived  by  the 
Church,  except  at  long  intervals,  and  with  great  carefulness ; 
and  these  intervals  arc  more  capable  of  being  prolonged,  if 
the  liturgy  has  been  framed  according  to  a  true  conception 
of  a  liturgy,  and  not  as  a  dogmatic  treatise.  It  ought,  cer- 
tainly, to  express  the  faith  of  the  Church,  but,  if  I  may  say 
so,  the  faith  of  the  Church  in  its  contemplative  mood. 
Much  more  should  the  preacher  abstain  from  making  altera- 
tions on  his  own  rcspousibility,  unless  on  occasions  of  real 
necessity — public  events,  calamities,  etc.  The  minister  is 
bound  to  the  liturgy,  which  does  not  belong  to  him,  whicli  is 
rather  the  voice  of  the  flock,  and  to  which  he  only  lends  his 
individual  voice. 

That  the  people  should  be  chained  to  a  form,  from  which 
the  meaning  has  departed,  is  to  be  apprehended  as  an  evil, 
and  by  no  means  desired ;  still  it  is  desirable  that  something 
fixed  and  immutable  should  belong  to  worship.  Let  the 
people  be,  up  to  a  certain  point,  klrkUch;*  that  is  to  say, 
attached  to  the  forms  of  their  worship :  this  does  not  appear 
necessarily  to  involve  formalism. f 

Costume. — Harms  gives  a  singular  explanation  of  costume, 
which  is,  he  says,  designed  to  conceal  either  too  great  bodily 
advantages,  or  too  great  bodily  imperfections.  The  idea  of 
costume,  according  to  us,  is  to  efface  or  to  cover  the  indi- 
vidual and  the  man  of  the  passing  age.  In  proportion  as 
spirituality  increases  in  a  people,  a  special  costume  becomes 
less  necessary — is  even  repugnant.  I  believe  that,  in  this 
respect,  we  must  follow  the  rules  of  the  Church  to  which  we 

*  A  German  adjective,  from  the  "word  kirche — church,  to  which  the 
cognate  word  ecclesiastical  docs  not,  in  our  use  of  it,  correspond. — 
Ed. 

f  "Wine  which  has  evaporated  till  only  dregs  are  left." 


230  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

have  attached  ourselves,  and  follow  them  freely  and  unhesi- 
tatingly. 

Celebration  of  rites. — [The  minister  ought  to  be  very  care- 
ful lest  he  should  be  led  to  perform  certain  rites,  such  as 
marriage  and  baptism,  in  a  too  careless  and  unimpressive 
style.  That  which  is  a  daily  act  for  him,  is  a  solemn  act  for 
others.]  All  this  is  better  contrived  in  some  liturgies  than 
in  our  own,  [which,  in  these  respects,  is  feeble.]  The  greater 
deficiency  there  is  in  the  text  and  form  of  the  liturgy,  the 
greater  necessity  is  there  for  the  minister  to  put  his  own 
spirit  into  these  rites,  to  give  them  a  rhythm  and  an  emphasis, 
to  animate  them  by  an  interior  disposition  corresponding  to 
them,*  Beugelf  recommends  in  these  cases  a  great  accu- 
racy, [the  hearers  inferring  easily  from  inconstancy  in  these 
exterior  acts,  an  indiflFerence  to  the  doctrines  belonging  to 
them.]  This  carefulness  is  consistent  with  liberty  and 
familiarity.  Some  ministers,  wishing  to  shun  a  rigid  aifecta- 
tion  and  gravity,  have,  on  the  other  hand,  aflFeeted  an  inde- 
cent familiarity.  They  do  not  wish  that  God  should  be 
addressed  as  a  king  of  the  earth,  and,  accordingly,  they  speak 
to  him  as  a  familiar.  And  this  by  prayer  [which  should  be 
offered] 

Avec  la  liberty  d'un  fils  devant  son  pfere, 

Et  le  Saint  tremblement  d'un  p^cheur  devant  Dieu  :| 

with  the  freedom  of  a  son  in  the  presence  of  his  father, 
and  the  holy  trembling  of  a  sinner  in  the  presence  of 
God. 

*  "Animate  these  solemnities,"  says  Bossuet. 

t  Bengel's  Leben,  by  Burt,  Stuttgard,  1831,  p.  112,  §  30. 

[So  does  the  Methodist  Discipline.  The  Ritual  which  it  prescribes 
is  unsurpassed  in  solemnity  and  impressiveness,  and,  if  supple- 
mented, ought  not  to  be  substituted,  by  other  services. — T.  0.  S.] 

X  Hymn  by  M.  Adolphe  Monod,  No.  102  of  the  Chant  Critiens. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  231 

Reccjjtion  of  catechumens. — The  Ordinances^'  of  our 
Church  allow  us  to  receive  them  separately,  provided  this  be 
iu  the  presence  of  the  colleagues  of  the  pastor,  if  he  has  any, 
and  the  assessors  of  the  consistory. 

The  Lord's  Stipiicr. — I  take  our  Church  as  it  is,  as  iden- 
tical with  the  body  politic,  except  so  far  as  the  individual 
will  of  each  man  may  determine  otherwise.  The  discipline 
prescribes  only  a  collective  warning  and  admonition  addressed 
from  the  pulpit,  even  to  scandalous  sinners,  and  the  individual 
admonition  which  the  pastor  gives  to  those  who  are  known 
to  him,  whom  he  expects  to  see  at  the  table. 

The  new  law  is  silent  as  to  form.  The  old  regulations  di- 
rect the  pastor,  as  he  presents  the  bread  and  wine,  to  employ 
"  the  words  of  our  Lord,"  which  are  assuredly  the  words 
which  instituted  the  ceremony.  The  Ordinances  add,  that  all 
the  communicants  shall  receive,  without  distinction,  the  bread 
and  the  wine  in  the  same  manner ;  that  is  to  say,  I  suppose, 
with  the  same  words.  Our  usage  is  not  in  conformity  with 
this  rule,  which  appears  to  me  a  very  good  one.  There  is 
more  inconvenience  in  addressing  each  person  in  a  diflPerent 
way.  The  repetition  of  one  sacramental  word  is  grave,  im- 
posing, and  does  not  exhaust  the  impressiveness.f 

It  is  legitimate  and  perfectly  legal  to  give  the  Lord's 
Supper  to  sick  persons  at  their  own  houses ;  but  this  should 
be  done  with  solemnity,  and  there  should  be  communion ; 

*  Ordonnances  eccUsiastiques  pour  le  pays  de  Vaud.  Berne,  1773, 
p.  18. 

f  In  the  Church  at  Basle  the  following  words  are  addressed  to  each 
communicant:  "  Das  blut  unsers  Hcrrn  Jesu  Christi  starke  und  cr- 
halte  cuch  ins  ewige  leben:"  The  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
strengthen  and  sustain  you  unto  life  eternal. 

[Compare  with  this  the  Eucharistic  rituals  of  the  Anglican  and 
Methodist  Churches.— T.  0.  S.] 


232  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

that  is  to  say,  not  only  should  some  persons  be  present,  but 
some  should  partake  of  the  Supper  with  the  sick  person.* 

As  to  Baptism,  without  asserting  that  the  administration 
of  it  in  the  house  of  the  parents  ought  to  be  absolutely  re- 
fused, I  believe  that  this  should  be  done  as  seldom  as  pos- 
sible, were  it  only  that  the  people,  in  general,  may  be  pre- 
served from  a  too  common  error  on  the  subject  of  baptism.^ 

[The  pastor  ought  to  watch,  that  every  thing  may  be  done 
decently  in  his  Church,  that  all  may  proceed  in  good  order, 
both  during  the  entrance  or  the  exit  of  the  congregation, 
and  during  service.  It  will  be  well  for  him  not  to  allow  the 
plate  to  circulate.  The  sound  is  uncongenial,  and  it  may 
force  people  to  give,  which  is  an  evil,  and  opposed  to  liberty. 
It  would  be  better  to  place  some  receptacle  at  each  door.  It 
is  of  little  importance  that  the  collection  would  suffer,  which 
is  not  improbable,]  ''  if  there  first  be  a  willing  mind."  2 
Cor.  viii.  12.  Moreover,  says  St.  Paul,  "  Ye  had  notice  be- 
fore, that  the  same  (the  contributions)  might  be  ready,  as  a 
matter  of  bounty,  and  not  as  of  covetousness.  .  .  .  For  Grod 
loveth  a  cheerful  giver."     2  Cor.  ix.  5,  7. 

Singing  is  more  essential  to  worship  than  is  ordinarily 
thought.  [It  is  a  language  which  God  has  given  to  man, 
whereby  to  express  thoughts  and  feelings  which  are  inexpress- 
ible by  ordinary  language.]  Besides  what  we  have  already 
said  of  it,  (that  worship,  as  a  whole,  ought  to  have  a  charac- 
ter of  song,)  it  is  the  act  which  visibly  unites  the  whole 
congregation,  which  assigns  to  believers  an  active  share  in 
public  worship,  and  in  which  their  liberty  is  more  entire. 

The  materials  for  song  are,  in  general,  prescribed  to  us,  but 
we  ought  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  law  which  allows  a  liberty 
of  selection. 


*  Bengel's  Lehen,  p.  114. 

f  See  the  Actes  du  Synode  de  Berne,  ch.  xxi.,  pp.  40,  43. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  233 

Wc  may  siug  too  much  or  too  little,  too  seldom  or  too  fre- 
quently ;  perhaps  three  times  is  the  most  convenient.  It  will 
be  well  to  sing  immediately  after  the  discourse,  [rather  than 
after  the  prayer  which  follows  it.  This  gives  a  little  rest  both 
to  the  minister  and  to  the  hearers,  and  enables  them  to  gain 
some  self-possession.] 

Funerals  are  the  only  part  of  worship  which  take  place 
out  of  the  enclosure  of  the  temple,  since  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  are  only,  in  exceptional  cases,  administered 
elsewhere.  We  cannot  allow  religion  to  be  visibly  absent 
from  funerals;  this  would  be  showing  less  piety  than  is 
.shown  by  pagans.  And  it  is  the  pastor  who  renders  religion 
visible ;  and,  considering  the  general  mental  advance  that  is 
going  on,  if  the  pastor  is  wanting  there,  some  one  else  will 
take  his  place  and  render  his  absence  more  visible,  to  the 
great  damage  of  his  character.  I  would  wish  the  minister 
never  to  be  absent  from  the  house  of  mourning,  or  from  the 
cemetery.  [In  many  houses,  before  the  departure  of  the 
funeral  company,  the  pastor  offers  a  prayer ;  but  this  is  not 
enough.  He  ought  to  be  at  the  funeral,  and,  on  that  occa- 
sion, there  ought  to  be  another  service,  either  near  the  tomb 
or  in  the  church.  Some  Scripture  expressions  and  a  prayer 
are  sufficient  in  all  cases.]* 

[*  Vinet  is  not  singular  in  this  opinion  ;  from  which,  however,  we 
are  forced  to  dissent.  A  formal  sermon  is  not  always  expedient,  but  a 
short  address  is  rarely  out  of  place  on  funeral  occasions,  and  is  fre- 
quently productive  of  most  salutary  results. — T.  0.  S.] 


234  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 


SECTION   THE   SECOND 

TEACHING. 


CHAPTER   I. 
PREACHING. 


§  I. — IMPORTANCE  OP  PREACHING  AMONG  THE  FUNCTIONS 
OF  THE   MINISTRY-. 

What  is  preaching  ?  It  is  the  explanation  of  the  word  of 
Grod — the  exposition  of  Christian  truths,  and  the  application 
of  those  truths  to  our  hearers ;  and  all  this  is  done  before  the 
assembled  congregation — I  might  say  in  public,  since  in  the 
view  of  the  church,  of  the  multitudes,  or  the  masses,  the 
church  is  a  large  school,  open  to  all  comers. 

We  have,  in  the  first  place,  spoken  of  worship,  and  then 
of  preaching,  which  is  an  accompaniment  of  worship,  and 
which  we  may  consider  as  forming  a  part  of  it,  although  wor- 
ship speaks  to  God,  and  preaching  speaks  of  God ;  but  we 
can  only  speak  worthily  of  God  when  we  raise  our  souls  to 
him,  and,  therefore,  preaching  which  does  not  partake  of  the 
nature  of  worship  is  not  true  preaching.    These  things  which 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  235 

are  separated  in  a  lower  region  become  merged  and  united  in 
a  higher  region.* 

But,  leaving  this,  let  us  see  what  place  God  himself  has 
assigned  to  preaching  in  Christianity.  It  occupies  a  higher 
and  grander  position  in  the  Christian  than  in  any  other  re- 
ligion, not  even  excepting  Judaism.  Christianity  is  a  reli- 
gion which  is  intended  to  be  a  subject  of  thought,  and  con- 
sequently of  speech ;  it  is  represented,  manifested,  and 
propagated  by  means  of  speech.  The  gospel  is  a  word. 
Christ  himself  is  the  Word  or  Reason,  {Aoyog;)  the  two 
terms  are  in  this  connection  interchangeable,  for  a  word  is 
reason  expressed,  and  reason  is  an  unuttered  word :  the 
Church  itself  is  truth  as  it  exists  in  the  thought  of  the 
community,  and  is  spoken  by  the  community.  When  re- 
cently we  spoke  of  synthesis  as  a  characteristic  of  worship, 
we  did  not  condemn  speech.  It  is  true  that  religion  appears 
in  a  complex  state  in  worship,  in  the  soul,  and  in  life ;  but 
there  is  no  just  sentiment  or  strong  affection  of  which  the 
reason  cannot  give  an  account,  which  is  not  founded  on 
some  relation,  the  terms  of  which  arc  well  known  and  appre- 
ciated ;  and  this  characteristic  ought  preeminently,  and,  in- 
deed, exclusively,  to  belong  to  the  true  religion.  It  alone 
can  say,  "I  believed,  therefore  have  I  spoken."  In  one 
word,  religion  is  a  matter  of  faith  and  of  persuasion,  and 
therefore  of  speech. 

Hence  arises  the  importance  of  preaching.  Ours  is,  we 
allow,  a  preaching  of  a  subordinate  rank,  a  preaching  on 
preaching,  a  word  on  a  word ;  but  this  does  not  affect  the 
case.  Preaching  is  necessary — for  this  we  are  sent;  wor.«!hip 
alone  may  be  celebrated  by  any  Christian,  without  distinc- 
tion, and  for  this  function  no  special  vocation  is  required ; 

*  On  the  relative  importance  of  preaching  in  the  pastoral  office, 
SCO  Harms,  L,  37-30. 


236  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

[it  suffices  if  the  believer  has  no  reason  to  doubt  the  corre- 
spondence between  his  faith  and  his  act.]  If  we  are  bound 
at  all  to  interrogate  ourselves  as  to  the  reality  of  our  voca- 
tion, if  we  need  to  be  called,  it  is  as  dispensers  of  the  mys- 
teries of  God,  as  heralds  or  messengers  of  justice  —  as 
preachers. 

In  truth,  the  whole  of  the  ministry  is  a  preaching.  In- 
stead of  saying  that  preaching  forms  a  part  of  worship,  wc 
might  rather  say  that  worship  forms  a  part  of  preaching,  that 
the  rite  is  a  form  of  teaching.  What,  therefore,  we  here 
present  as  a  species  is,  in  a  sense,  the  genus ;  but  we  can 
adopt  the  smaller  extension  of  the  term,  since  the  v^ordi preach- 
ing, in  ordinary  language,  denotes  a  part  and  not  the  whole 
of  the  exercise  of  the  ministry. 

Not  only  ought  pastors  to  preach,  but  we  think,  with  Fene- 
lon,  (if  we  may  explain  the  language  according  to  our  own 
ideas,)  that  to  pastors  alone  belongs  the  right  of  preaching.* 
The  true  characteristics  of  political  eloquence  belong  only 
to  the  statesman,  and  the  true  characteristics  of  sacred  elo- 
quence belong  only  to  the  statesman  of  the  religious  com- 
munity— that  is  to  say,  the  pastor,  who  passes  alternately  from 
generalities  to  details,  and  from  details  to  generalities — from 
theory  to  practice,  and  from  practice  to  theory — who  has  been 
in  contact  with  individuals  and  instructed  by  facts.  [If  some 
men  who  have  not  the  habitual  oversight  of  a  parish  have 

*  "In  general  only  pastors  should  be  allowed  to  preach.  The 
pulpit  would  thus  be  invested  with  that  simplicity  and  authority 
which  it  ought  to  have ;  for  pastors  who  should  join  to  tlie  ex- 
pei'ience  of  labor  and  the  guidance  of  souls  a  competent  know- 
ledge of  the  Scriptures,  would  speak  in  a  manner  much  more 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  their  hearers ;  while  preachers  whose  only 
guide  is  speculation,  enter  far  less  into  the  diflBculties  and  pro- 
portionally less  into  the  minds  of  their  hearers,  and  speak  more 
vaguely." — Fenelon's  Dialogues  on  Eloquence.     Dialogue  iii. 


TASTOHAL    LIFE.  237 

succeeded  in  preaching,  it  is  because,  in  another  and  wider 
sense,  they  also  were  pastors.]* 

It  is  true  that  the  primitive  Church  divided  the  functions 
of  the  ministry.  These  were  KvQepvqrai,  [governors  or  di- 
rectors,] 1  Cor.  xii.  28,  and  diddoKaXot,  [teachers.]  ''Are  all 
apostles  ?  are  all  teachers  ?"  1  Cor.  xii.  20.  But  without 
insisting  that  the  apostle  is  here  speaking  of  gifts,  and  with- 
out speaking  of  exigencies  which  might  be  peculiar  to  those 
times,  we  cannot  believe  that  these  two  offices  were  entirely 
estranged  from  one  another.  At  a  period  when  every  Chris- 
tian was  a  minister,  when  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  simple  arti- 
sans, became  the  instructors  of  an  Apollos,  how  can  we  sup- 
pose that  the  teacher  was  not  also  a  pastor  ?  We  may  presume 
that  there  were  elders,  (jTpeaj3vrepoi,)  who  did  not  preach, 
but  not  preachers  who  undertook  no  pastoral  work  except 
preaching."!"  Paul  preached  and  also  governed;  Timothy 
preached  and  also  governed. 

The  pastorate  is  necessary  to  preaching;  but  it  is  still 
more  evident  that  preaching  is  necessary  to  the  pastorate, 
and  that  we  know  not  how  any  one  can  be  a  pastor  unless  he 
pi'caches — we  may  say,  unless  he  preaches  in  public — for 
there  is  no  question  as  to  the  occasional  and  irregular 
preacher — without  this,  nothing  would  remain  of  the  idea  of 
a,  s7iC2)her<I,  or  pasto)-.  Public  preaching  is,  then,  essential  to 
the  pastorate,  which,  apart  from  this,  cannot  reach  all  souls, 
and  cannot  present  the  truth  in  its  most  regular  and  general 
forms.  This  is  the  glory  of  our  Reformation,  that  it  has 
restored  public  preaching  to  the  Church,  I  may  even  say  to 

[*  This  remark  applies  to  many  of  that  large  class  of  Methodist 
preachers  who  are  styled  "local,"  as  distinguished  from  those  called 
"itinerant,"  who  are  the  official  pastors  of  churches. — T.  0.  S.] 

[I  Yet  we  may  presume  there  were  many  who  preached  and  per- 
formed other  ministerial  acts — as  do  our  local  preacher's — who  had 
not  pastoral  charge  of  churches. — T.  O.  8.] 


238  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

the  Catholic  Church.  Surely  that  was  a  noble  movement, 
by  which  the  priesthood  passed  from  a  simple  celebration  of 
rites,  (which  had  become  a  species  of  magic,)  to  science,  to 
thought,  to  speech,  to  aggressive  action ! 

§   II. — PRINCIPLES   OR   BIAXIMS   TO    BE    OBSERVED   WITH 
REFERENCE   TO   PREACHING. 

On  the  subject  of  preaching  we  must  lay  down  certain 
principles,  or  recognize  certain  directive  truths. 

The  first  is,  that  preaching  is  an  action,  a  real  act  of  speech, 
not  the  imitation  of  speech,  and  that  in  it  eloquence  is  a 
virtue.  Apart  from  its  characteristics  as  a  work  of  art, 
preaching  is  a  labor  of  love,  a  good  ofiice,  a  part  of  the  ser- 
vice of  God.     But  this  is  only  the  first  step. 

The  second  is,  that  preaching  is  a  mystpry.  I  use  the 
word  in  reference  to  its  origin  and  its  results.  It  is  a  mys- 
tery of  reprobation  and  of  salvation  j*  for  the  word  of  Grod, 
(which  we  presume  to  be  in  the  mouth  of  the  preacher,) 
docs  not  return  to  its  author  without  some  efi"ect.  Some  true 
result,  either  in  gain  or  in  loss,  always  attaches  to  and  re- 
mains with  him  who  has  heard  it.  Here  then,  we  find  a  great 
mystery,  that  the  soul  and  the  eternity  of  one  man  should 
depend  on  the  voice  of  another  man.  There  is  mystery  in 
the  so  various  and  inexplicable  modes  of  action,  the  efi"ect  of 
which  is  beyond  our  calculation,  and  often  baffles  our  acutest 
foresight ;  for  we  often  see  the  greatest  efi"ects  connected  with 
the  most  trifling  causes,  and  the  smallest  with  the  greatest — 
power  becoming  feebleness,  and  impotence  becoming  might — 
the  one  succeeding  by  the  failure  of  the  other,  and  conversely. 
Laws,  doubtless,  there  are,  but  without  regularity,  and  all 

*  St.  Cyran  calls  it  almost  a  sacrament,  and  more  awful  than  that 
of  the  altar.     See  Appendix,  Note  II. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  239 

are  subordinated  to  tlic  liberty  of  the  Spirit,  who  "  blowetli 
where  he  listeth."* 

All  this  is  wonderful,  awful,  overwhelming,  but  adapted  to 
lead  to  a  wise  self-distrust.  It  is  evident  that  we  carry  this 
treasure  in  earthen  vessels,  and  that  what  depends  on  us  (if, 
indeed,  any  thing  depends  on  us)  is,  that  there  shall  be  no 
flaw  in  the  vessel,  by  which  the  water  of  life  may  escape,  and 
no  impurity  by  which  it  may  be  corrupted.  The  rest  does 
not  belong  to  us,  and  so  much  the  more  does  it  cease  to  be- 
long to  us  as  we  are  tempted  to  imagine  that  it  does.  In 
preaching,  therefore,  as  in  the  whole  of  the  ministry,  our 
wisdom  is  to  rejoice  with  trembling. 

In  this  matter,  the  sovereignty  of  God  (which  is  the  first 
thing  to  be  recognized)  does  not  exclude  the  responsibility  of 
man.  Preaching  is  an  action — but  an  action  of  the  soul — 
and  its  effects  depend  upon  the  spiritual  state  of  the  preacher. 
It  is  not  so  much  by  what  he  says,  or  by  what  he  is,  that  the 
preacher  may  assure  himself  that  he  is  not  beating  the  air. 
His  first  duty  is  to  "  hold  the  mystery  of  the  faith  in  a  pure 
conscience."  1  Tim.  iii.  9.  This  pure  conscience  (that  is  to 
say,  uprightness  of  intention)  is  the  true  force  of  preaching. 
A  discourse  is  powerful  through  the  intention  of  him  who 
pronounces  it,  whatever  may  be  the  mode  in  which  this  in- 
tention is  outwardly  expressed.  The  more  a  discourse  re- 
sembles an  act  of  contrition,  of  submissipn,  of  prayer,  of 
martyrdom,  the  better  is  it.  The  preacher  must  regard  him- 
self as  '■'■  a  channel  for  that  which  ought  to  be  poured  by  him 
into  the  heart  of  his  hearers. "f  "The  ministry  of  the 
word,"  says  Fenelon,  "  is  all  founded  on  faith.    The  preacher 

[*  There  is  no  evidence,  however,  that  the  operations  of  the  Spirit 
are  "without  rcgularitj',"  except  as  they  vary  in  their  adaptatiou  to 
the  agent  by  -wliich  and  the  subjects  on  which  they  arc  exerted,  as 
they  concur  with  or  resist  his  influences. — T.  0.  S.] 

f  Praktischc  Bcmerlcu?ijm,  etc.,  p.  48. 


240  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

must  pray,  he  must  purify  his  heart,  he  must  expect  all  from 
heaven,  he  must  arm  himself  with  the  sword  of  God,  and 
regard  his  own  as  nothing;  this  is  his  essential  preparation/'* 
In  one  word,  our  lips  are  naturally  impure;  they  must  be 
purified,  and  that  with  fire.  See  Isa.  vi.  5,  7.  In  fine, 
j)reaching,  which  is  a  Divine  mystery,  is  also  a  human  action, 
and  the  best  part  of  this  action  is  interior,  spiritual,  anterior 
even  to  the  act  of  composing  the  discourse.  [The  discourse 
finishes  the  work  which  prayer  ought  to  have  begun.] 

With  these  general  observations  a  more  particular  direc- 
tion is  connected,  which  is  expressed  by  Paul  in  these  words  : 
'^  Having  then  the  gift  ...  of  prophecy,  let  us  prophesy 
according  to  the  proportion  of  faith,"  (Rom.  xii.  6,)  which 
implies,  according  to  the  measure  of  life  possessed.  "It  is 
true,  we  are  obliged  to  preach  on  a  fixed  and  prescribed  day. 
If  we  are  not  always  in  a  condition  to  prophesy,  (that  is  to 
say,  to  speak  with  that  fulness  and  power  of  spirit  which 
shall  communicate  a  similar  inspiration  to  the  hearers,)  we 
must  limit  ourselves  to  teaching — that  is,  to  the  regular  treat- 
ment of  a  subject  without  aiming  specially  to  enforce  any 
thing."f  "  "Whether  we  be  beside  ourselves,  it  is  for  God — 
or  whether  we  be  sober,  it  is  for  your  cause."  2  Cor.  v.  13. 
[The  evil  is,  not  to  be  in  one  condition  rather  than  another, 
but  not  to  exercise  our  gift  according  to  that  measure  of  faith 
and  life  which  is  actuating  us  at  the  given  moment — to  wish 
to  take  a  position  by  force,  to  guide  the  hand  of  God,  to  be- 
lieve that  a  blessing  can  be  attached  to  an  illusion ;  for  when 
speech  outruns  thought,  there  is  truly  an  illusion.  We  would 
wish  always  to  be  eloquent,  but  we  must  be  content  some- 
times to  be  "  sober,"  humble,  and  feeble.  A  frigid  and  feeble, 
but  truthful  discourse,  will  be  more  blessed  than  an  eloquent 

*  Fenelon's  Dialogues  on  Eloquence,  Dialogue  iii. 
I  Praktische  Bemerkunyen,  pp.  37,  38. 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  2-11 

discourse  whose  outward  passion  corresponds  to  no  inward 
intensity.] 

There  is,  moreover,  a  still  more  intellectual,  a  more  human 
mode  of  action.  Neither  the  sovereignty  of  God,  nor  the 
spiritual  nature  of  human  action,  diminishes  its  importance, 
or  destroys  its  necessity.  God  has  not  designed  that  a  good 
and  an  evil  instrument  should  give  forth  the  same  sounds — 
and  accordingly  this  is  not  the  case.  I  allow  that  the  power 
of  God  is  magnified  in  the  infirmity  of  man,  but  not  in  a 
voluntary  infirmity,  which  consists  in  diminishing  the  powers 
which  he  has  given,  and  casting  a  slight,  so  to  speak,  on  his 
favors.  The  more  we  arc  penetrated  with  a  sense  of  the 
seriousness,  the  responsibility,  the  danger  of  our  mission,  the 
more  shall  we  feel  constrained  to  watch,  to  anticipate,  and  to 
take  precautions :  our  small  human  providence  enters  into 
the  scheme  of  the  vast  providence  of  God.  It  was  once  said 
to  men  that  they  were  not  to  be  concerned  as  to  what  they 
should  say,  for  that  the  most  suitable  language  would  be  sug- 
gested at  the  moment  of  speaking.  Mark  xiii.  11.  But  this 
has  not  been  said  specially  to  us,  except  in  an  absolute  man- 
ner. We  must  then  take  concern  as  to  what  we  shall  preach; 
we  must  strive  to  preach  well.  [Ilomilctics  has  no  other 
aim  than  to  instruct  us  in  this.]  The  discourse  will  be  the 
more  carefully  studied  by  those  who  best  know  that  they  arc 
nothing,  and  can  do  nothing. 

But  here  an  objection  presents  itself.  Can  we  at  once 
preach  much  and  preach  well?  Those  who  make  this  objec- 
tion suppose  it  to  be  evident,  or  at  least  to  be  admitted,  that 
we  must  preach  much.  All,  however,  are  not  of  this  opinion. 
The  latter  question  must,  therefore,  be  first  settled  before  we 
can  entertain  the  former. 

It  is  evident  that  we  cannot,  at  will,  multiply  the  hours  of 
worship,  which  are  determined  and  limited  by  the  law. 
When,  therefore,  it  is  said  that  we  should  preach  much,  this 


242  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

either  means  that  the  law  ought  to  multiply  occasions  for 
preaching,  or  that,  besides  the  days  and  liours  which  are  set 
apart  by  the  law  for  this  purpose,  the  minister  ought  often 
to  teach,  to  expound,  to  exhort.  I  suppose  that,  in  one  way 
or  another,  the  pastor  is  free  to  offer  the  bread  of  life  fre- 
quently to  his  people ;  and  I  say,  if  he  can  do  so,  why  should 
he  not?  Doubtless  there  are,  in  all  cases,  measures  and 
limits ;  but  it  is  surely  right  that  there  should  be  an  abund- 
ance of  that  which  is  useful  and  good ;  and  it  would  be  very 
sad  if,  in  order  that  preaching  might  attain  to  a  greater  liter- 
ary gravity  and  perfection,  the  word  of  life,  which  ought  to 
abound,  should  become  scarce,  since,  moreover,  it  can  only 
reach  the  hearts  of  men  by  frequent  repetition. 

[On  this  subject  there  arc  different  opinions.  Some  advise, 
as  we  have  just  done,  frequent  preaching  ;*  others  regard  the 
obligation  to  preach  often  as  burdensome,  especially  so  far  as 
young  ecclesiastics  are  concerned. f] 

I  think  we  must  here  distinguish  between  official  preaching 
before  a  parish,  (which  is  not  frequent,  and  to  which,  conse- 
quently, the  objection  does  not  apply,)  and  preaching  ''out 
of  season,"  But  even  supposing  that  official  preaching  were 
more  frequent,  and  that,  consequently,  the  objection  might 
still  be  urged,  how  should  we  answer  ? 

We  could  not  answer  by  making  any  distinction  between 
places,  for  good  preaching  is  as  necessary  and  as  difficult  in 
the  country  as  in  towns.  On  this  point  much  prejudice  still 
exists.  [Harms|  relates,  on  this  subject,  a  circumstance  in 
the  life  of  Andreas,  who,  after  having  preached  without  any 
preparation,  before  his  country  audience,  said  afterwards  to 
his  son,  "Did  you  not  observe  my  hesitancy  and  embarrass- 

*  De  Baudry's  Guide  to  the  Preacher,  p.  114. 
f  Harms's  Pastor altheologie,  vol.  i.,  p.  39. 
J  PasioraUheoloffie,  vol.  i.,  p.  49. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  243 

nicnt  ?  They  were  so  great,  that  I  was  on  the  point  of  leav- 
ing the  pulpit.  Never  was  I  so  near  losing  all  presence  of 
mind  as  when  preaching  before  these  poor  peasants.  Tlic 
grace  of  God  had  almost  entirely  abandoned  me,  because  I 
had  despised  this  poor  people  as  not  worth  the  trouble  of  a 
careful  preparation.  Let  my  experience  instruct  you,  my 
son."] 

Let  us  not,  then,  make  any  distinction,  but  say  that  there 
is  a  general  kind  of  preparation,  a  profound  and  continuous 
study  of  the  congregation,  of  human  life,  of  our  own  hearts, 
aud  of  the  Bible  ;  a  habit  of  mental  discipline,  and  of  arrang- 
ing the  ideas  that  may  pass  through  the  mind,  which  will 
never  leave  the  preacher  at  a  loss  in  a  familiar  address,  or  a 
simple  exposition  of  the  Scripture.  I  would  not  wish  this  to 
be  done  without  special  preparation — but  a  very  short  prepa- 
ration would  suffice.* 

*  "But.  you  have  naturally,  you  say,  an  unretentive  memory,  which 
disables  you  from  speaking  in  public.  But  is  not  the  heart  as  un- 
retentive and  rebellious  as  the  memory  ?  The  solemn,  sacred  min- 
istry of  pastoral  instruction  is  not  a  dry,  puerile  exercise  of  memoi-y : 
the  pastor  ought  to  speak  by  his  heart,  by  the  yearning  aifcction  of 
his  inmost  soul.  0 !  my  dear  brethren,  if  we  did  but  ponder  over 
religious  truths  as  we  find  them  in  holy  books,  if  we  but  loved  them 
and  nourished  our  spirits  upon  them,  if  we  but  made  them  the  sub- 
ject of  our  most  ordinary  and  delightful  occupations,  we  should  not 
be  so  embarrassed  when  we  are  obliged  to  speak  to  our  people.  AVe 
soon  learn  to  speak  of  that  which  we  love.  The  heart  has  much 
more  abundant  supplies  than  the  memory,  and  has  even  a  language 
of  which  it  knows  nothing.  An  earnest,  holy  pastor,  influenced  by 
God,  and  interested  in  the  salvation  of  the  souls  which  are  intrusted 
to  him,  finds,  in  the  liveliness  of  his  zeal,  and  in  the  overflowing 
abundance  of  his  heart,  expressions  which  are  given  to  him  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  love  and  of  light,  far  more  adapted  to  touch, 
to  reclaim  sinners,  than  all  those  utterances  which  may  be  suggest ed 
by  labor,  and  the  vain  devices  of  human  eloquence.  Do  not,  then, 
say  any  more  that  you  are  not  sensible  of  possessing  any  talent ;  you 


244  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

It  is  this  general  preparation,  and  not  merely  natural  talent, 
whicli  explains  to  us  the  ever-fertile  abundance  of  Calvin, 
who,  in  ten  years  and  a  half,  preached  two  thousand  and 
twenty-five  sermons,  that  is,  four  per  week ;  and  of  White- 
field,  who,  in  thirty-four  years,  preached  eighteeen  thousand 
sermons,  or  six  per  week.  We  would  distinguish  the  parish 
preacher  from  the  reformer  or  missionary ;  but  why  cannot 
he  be,  to  some  extent,  both  ?  [Indeed,  he  is  nothing  unless 
he  unites  these  two  characters ;  for,  excepting  the  few  souls 
which  already  belong  to  him,  or  rather  to  God,  he  has  to 
conquer  all  the  rest.]  The  parish  is  often  represented  in 
false  colors,  and  it  is  a  happy  circumstance  that  Christian  zeal 
has  changed  acolytes  into  regular  pastors.* 

Let  us,  however,  say  that,  if  it  is  not  right  to  make  dis- 
tinctions between  places,  (between  town  and  country,)  wc 
may  yet  distinguish  between  the  sermons  themselves — some 
of  which  more  nearly  resemble  a  treatise,  others  a  familiar 
and  colloquial  address.  We  may  reserve  more  time  for  the 
former. 

Let  us,  in  the  third  place,  say,  that  wc  should  have  more 
time  if,  on  the  one  hand,  we  knew  how  to  measure  time  by 
force,  to  adjust  between  the  extensive  and  the  intensive;  [be- 
tween duration  and  intensity;]  and,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we 
were  accustomed  to  reflection,  to  solitude,   to  gather  from 

are  not  asked  to  possess  the  talents  of  an  orator,  but  those  of  a  father; 
and  what  talents  can  a  father  need  in  order  to  speak  to  his  children, 
but  his  tenderness  of  love  for  them,  and  his  desire  to  do  them  good?" 
— Massillon's  Seventeenth  Synodical  Discourse,  On  the  Observance 
of  the  Statutes  and  Regulations  of  the  Diocese. 

[*  The  acolytes  are  an  order  of  ministers  nextbelowthe  sub-deacons: 
they  are  attendants  on  bishops  and  priests.  In  the  Romish  Church, 
at  their  ordination,  they  receive  a  candle  and  a  chalice  in  token  of 
their  employment. — T.  0.  S.] 


TASTORAL    LIFE.  245 

all  quarters  materials  for  the  subject  which  occupies  us,  to 
employ  profitably  every  moment.* 

PreparatioiT  should  not  be  delayed.  [Reinhard  relates, 
that  finding  himself  burdened  with  occupations  which  ab- 
sorbed the  greater  part  of  his  time,  and  being  subject  occa- 
sionally to  sudden  attacks  of  indisposition,  which  incapacitated 
him  for  labor,  he  took  the  resolution  never  to  put  off  to  the 
last  moment  the  composition  of  his  sermons,  and  that  he  made 
a  rule  never  to  preach  one  sermon  without  having  the  fol- 
lowing one  ready.  He  congratulated  himself  on  having 
formed  this  habit,  wliich  saved  him  from  the  embarrassment 
of  having  to  preach  without  sufficient  preparation,  or  after  a 
very  hurried  preparation,  and  which  allowed  him  to  remodel 
his  sermons,  when  he  had  happened,  while  composing  them, 
to  be  unable  to  frame  them  entirely  according  to  his  wishes. f] 

The  question  oi  extemporization  is  here  naturally  suggested. 
Opinions  differ  on  this  subject.  Fenelon  says,  ''While  there 
are  so  many  pressing  wants  in  Christendom — while  the  priest, 
who  should  be  a  man  of  God,  ready  for  every  good  work, 
ought  to  be  eager  to  uproot  all  ignorance,  and  every  thing 
ofi'ensive,  from  the  Church,  I  regard  it  as  exceedingly  un- 
worthy of  him  to  pass  his  life  in  his  study,  rounding  his 
periods,  adding  minute  touches  to  his  descriptions,  and  in- 
venting divisions.  For  as  soon  as  any  one  becomes  a  preacher 
of  this  kind,  he  has  no  time  for  any  other  occupation,  he  can- 
not pursue  any  other  study,  or  any  other  labor,  and  at  last 
he  may  even  be  reduced,  in  order  to  alleviate  his  labors,  to 
an  incessant  repetition  of  the  same  sermons.  What  a  strange 
kind  of  eloquence  is  that  of  the  man,  all  whose  movements 
and  expressions  may  be  anticipated  by  his  hearers !     This, 

*  M.  Durand  used  to  meditate  in  the  streets ;  and  he  might  some- 
times be  observed  to  enter  into  the  passages  of  houses  in  order  to 
take  notes. 

f  Reinhard's  Letters  on  his  Studies  and  Career  as  a  Preacher. 


246  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

forsootli,  is  the  way  to  surprise,  to  astonish,  to  soften,  to  con- 
vict, and  to  persuade  men  !  A  strange  way,  indeed,  of  con- 
cealing art,  and  of  speaking  according  to  nature !  For  my 
part,  I  will  freely  confess  that  all  this  is  exceedingly  offensive 
to  me.  What !  shall  he  who  dispenses  the  mysteries  of  God 
be  a  laborious  declaimer,  jealous  of  his  reputation,  and  greedy 
of  vain  show  ?  Shall  he  not  dare  to  speak  of  God  to  the 
people,  unless  he  has  arranged  all  his  words,  and,  like  a 
schoolboy,  learnt  his  lesson  by  heart?"* 

In  another  writer  we  read :  "Although  it  may  be  a  prac- 
tice in  some  countries  to  read  sermons,  or  at  least  to  write 
and  then  to  repeat  them,  which  may  be  necessary  in  certain 
places  where  the  preacher  may  be  called  upon  afterwards  to 
produce  his  written  discourse,  after  having  delivered  it,  still, 
generally  speaking,  such  a  mode  of  preaching  does  not  seem 
to  me  to  produce  such  an  impression  as  a  free  discourse,  for 
which  reason  I  am  induced  to  give  a  preference  to  this  latter 
method."f 

Harms,  on  the  other  hand,  would  have  the  sermon  written 
out  in  full.  "If  the  majority  of  your  hearers  do  not  observe 
an  unskilful  transition,  a  gap,  an  obscure  or  vulgar  expres- 
sion, an  equivocal  or  unintelligible  statement ;  if  they  do  not 
perceive  that  your  preaching  is  devoid  of  all  depth  of  thought, 
that  you  only  quote  the  most  familiar  passages  of  Scripture, 
or  that  you  are  obliged  to  cast  about  laboriously,  yet  uncer- 
tainly, for  expressions,  yet  be  very  sure  that,  among  the 
number  of  your  hearers,  there  will  be  those  who  will  over- 
look nothing  of  all  this,  and  who  will  mentally  reproach  you 
for  not  having  come  into  the  pulpit  better  prepared. "| 


*  Fenelon's  Dialogues  on  Eloquence,  Dialogue  iii.     See  also  Dia- 
logue ii. 

f  Herrnhut's  Praktische  Bemerkimgen,  p.  47. 
J  Pastoraltheologie,  vol.  i.,  pp.  48,  49. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  247 

Spener  [made  it  a  rule,  up  to  1675,  to  write  and  learn  his 
sermons.  Then,  yielding  to  counsels  given  by  some  of  his 
friends,  he  preached  for  some  time  from  tolerably  ample 
notes ;  but  he  soon  returned  to  his  first  method,  and  never 
afterwards  forsook  it.  He  recommends,  above  all  things,  a 
serious  meditation  on  the  principles  of  the  subject,  rather  than 
on  the  form  which  it  shall  assume  in  a  sermon — meditation 
accompanied  by  fervent  prayer ;  and  he  advises  preachers, 
especially  those  who,  having  the  gift  of  speaking  fluently 
without  preparation,  are  more  liable  to  be  betrayed  into 
idleness,  to  reserve  for  themselves  a  fixed  time  for  this  exer- 
cise.* 

[If  a  general  rule  is  required,  we  would  say  that  a  sermon 
ought,  as  far  as  possible,  to  be  carefully  prepared.  Prepara- 
tion can  be  made  in  different  manners :  some  persons  say 
that  they  cannot  prepare  without  writing,  and  that  they  must, 
in  preaching,  repeat  what  they  have  written ;  others  assert 
that  they  cannot  prepare  in  this  way,  because  they  cannot 
succeed  in  impressing  a  written  sermon  on  their  memory. 
These  two  impossibilities  ought  to  be  discarded :  a  minister 
ought  to  be  able  to  speak  without  having  written,  and  every 
minister  ought  to  be  qualified  to  learn  a  sermon  which  he  has 
composed.  Some  ministers,  it  is  true,  but  a  very  small  num- 
ber, have  so  unretentivc  a  memory  that  we  cannot  expect 
them  to  learn  and  to  repeat.  These,  then,  have  no  choice 
left ;  the  mode  of  their  preparation  is  prescribed  to  them  by 
necessity;  but,  we  repeat,  theirs  is  an  exceptional  and  cer- 
tainly a  very  rare  case.  All  that  we  can  now  recommend,  as 
a  general  rule,  is  preparation  of  some  kind.  If  a  minister 
does  not  repeat  a  written  sermon  which  he  has  learnt  before- 
hand, yet  his  preparation  will  require,  in  order  to  be  suffi- 
cient and  complete,  even  more  careful  labor  and  more  intense 

*  See  Burk's  Pastoraltheologic,  vol.  i.,  p.  164. 


248  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

and  vigorous  application.  Extemporization  cannot  be  author- 
ized, unless  tlie  preparation  has  been  so  diligent  and  substan- 
tial that  the  term  can  no  longer  be  applicable.  Without  this, 
the  preacher  is  in  danger  of  becoming  exceedingly  lax,  and 
of  being  contented  with  sermons  that  cost  him  almost  noth- 
ing. In  general,  the  young  preacher  ought  to  write  and  re- 
peat what  he  has  written.  Let  him  be  careful  to  remember 
the  ideas,  before  he  concerns  himself  with  the  words.  He 
will  thus  prepare  himself  for  a  more  free  style  of  preaching. 
As  to  extemporization,  properly  so  called,  we  reject  it  abso- 
lutely as  a  method.  By  adopting  it,  the  greatest  orators, 
such  as  Bossuet  and  Fenelon,  have  fallen  occasionally,  not 
only  below  themselves,  but  below  the  level  of  mediocre 
preachers.  However,  it  is  necessary  to  be  able  to  extempo- 
rize, when  occasion  calls  for  it ',  and  this  may  frequently 
arise,  either  when  the  preacher  finds  himself  induced  to  make 
changes  in  the  structure  of  a  written  sermon,  (perhaps  in  the 
pulpit,)  or  when  unforeseen  circumstances  call  upon  him  to 
speak  without  preparation.] 

Spiritual  reflection,  before  preaching,  is  of  the  highest  im- 
portance. "  The  preacher  must  have  labored  long  in  the 
mortification  of  his  spirit,"  says  St.  Cyran,  "  seeing  that  we 
ought  to  be  more  apprehensive  of  oflfending  God  in  the  pulpit 
than  any  other  place."*  "The  best  preparation  for  preach- 
ing," says  Herrnhut,  in  his  Practical  Observations,  "  is  daily 
communion  with  Christ,  watching  over  our  own  hearts,  and 
assiduous  reading  of  Grod's  word.  This  it  is  which  has  se- 
cured that  valuable  simplicity  which  in  all  times  has  been 
the  principal  characteristic  of  witnesses  who  have  been  most 
favored  by  the  grace  of  Christ. "f 

*  St.  Cyran's  Letters  to  M.  Le  Rebours.     Letter  xxxi. 

■j-  Fraktische  Bemerkmigen,  p.  48. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  249 

§  III. — OBJECT  OF   PREACHING. 

The  object  of  preaching — I  mean  of  every  sermon — ought 
to  be  "  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified,"  "  who  of  God  is 
made  unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and  sanctification, 
and  redemption."  1  Cor.  i.  30.  We  must,  in  every  sermon, 
either  start  from  Jesus  Christ,  or  reach  him  at  the  close. 
The  whole  of  Christianity  ought  to  be  present  in  every  ser- 
mon, in  the  sense  that  sanctification  can  never  appear  inde- 
pendent of  faith,  nor  faith  independent  of  sanctification. 
Where  this  union  does  not  of  itself  appear,  where  these  two 
elements  are  not  so  incorporated  one  into  the  other  that  it  is 
morally  and  rationally  impossible  to  speak  of  one  without 
speaking  of  both,  there  the  gospel  is  not  present,  and  what 
is  preached  is  not  the  gospel. 

In  this  sense  also  we  must  understand  the  words  of  St. 
Paul,  "  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing  among  you  save 
Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified."  1  Cor.  ii.  2.  These  words 
imply,  primarily,  that  St.  Paul  did  not  seek  and  did  not  ex- 
hibit salvation  in  any  other  than  in  Jesus  Christ ;  but 
they  also  imply  that  all  his  teachings  return  to  this  centre, 
relate  to  this,  that  this  will  ever  be  found  in  his  preaching, 
cither  actually  or  virtually,  as  its  substance  or  as  its  savor. 
Kut  they  do  not  signify,  absolutely,  that  St.  Paul  was  deter- 
mined not  to  know  any  thing  else.  He  was  indeed  well 
aware  that  the  true  pastor,  such  as  he  was,  will  desire  to 
know  many  things.  It  is  true  that  a  preacher  who  literally 
knows  nothing  but  "Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified,"  and 
who  only  admits  this  into  his  sermons,  may  very  often  pro- 
duce good  results,  so  great  is  the  intrinsic  virtue  and  expan- 
sive force  of  this  cardinal  Christian  doctrine.  But  this  is 
not  the  rule;  the  rule  is  rather  to  feel  and  show  the  relation 
of  religion  to  all  parts  of  man,  and  to  all  spheres  of  human 
life ;  the  rule  is  not  to  be  ignorant  of  all  things ;  yea,  rather, 


250  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

it  is  to  know  or  at  least  to  understand  all  things ;  not  iu 
order  to  speak  of  all  things,  not  in  order  that  the  pulpit  may 
he  used  to  display  an  encyclopasdical  store  of  learning,  but 
in  order  that  nothing  untrue  may  be  said,  nothing  which 
cannot  find  a  confirmation  in  facts,  and  even  also  that  what- 
ever is  said  may  be  more  direct,  more  striking,  more  truthful. 
There  are  a  thousand  things  which  must  not  be  spoken  of  in 
the  pulpit,  and  which  ought  yet  to  be  known ;  and  the  expe- 
rienced hearer  knows  well  how  to  find,  in  a  sermon  which 
has  only  spoken  of  Jesus  Christ  and  religion,  the  impress  or 
the  reflection  of  various  knowledge  which  the  speaker  does 
not  produce  externally,  but  which  is  assimilated  by  him, 
and  transformed  by  him  in  succum  et  sangutnem.  Moreover, 
we  cannot  tell  beforehand,  and  for  all  cases,  what  the  Chris- 
tian orator  may  say,  and  what  he  must  not  say.  He  must 
necessarily  speak  of  human  life,  and,  in  order  to  make  him- 
self understood,  he  must  enter  into  details  ',  and  who  can  say 
what  are  his  limits  ?  What  would  be  more  than  enough  iu 
certain  times  or  places,  is  only  what  is  naturally  required  in 
others. 

In  theology,  the  distinction  between  dogma  and  morals  must 
be  strictly  observed ;  but  a  sharp  distinction  between  doc- 
trinal and  moral  sermons  cannot  be  very  much  admitted  by 
the  Christian  preacher.  Doctrine  and  morality,  which  are 
fused  and  identified  in  the  heart  of  the  Christian,  ought  also 
to  be  fused  and  identified  in  Christian  preaching.  I  would 
desire  no  other  rule  than  this  :  let  doctrine  abound  in  moral 
preaching ;  let  morality  abound  in  doctrinal  preaching ;  but 
the  pastor  must  undoubtedly  aim  at  giving  his  hearers  a  moral 
:nd  doctrinal  instruction  as  complete  as  possible. 

§  IV. — UNITY   OF   PREACHING. 

What  we  have  just  said  leads  us  to  observe  that  preaching 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  251 

iu  one  parish  ouglit  to  be  regjvrded  as  a  whole,  and  that  de- 
taclied  discourses  ought  not  to  be  composed  merely  as  chance 
may  on  every  separate  occasion  suggest  a  subject.  Preach- 
ing is  a  continuous  act;  it  is,  in  several  consecutive  sermons, 
one  and  the  same  sermon. 

This  may  be,  this  ought  to  be,  even  where  no  systematic 
order  is  followed  with  regard  to  subjects,  and  where  no  book 
or  books  of  the  Bible  are  regularly  expounded.  These  two 
methods  have  their  advantages ;  the  latter  supei'sedcs  the 
labor  of  finding  a  text;  the  former  that  of  finding  a  subject : 
tliere  is  a  mode  of  succession  and  progress  which  is  interest- 
ing and  attractive.* 

But  the  true  pastor,  though  he  may  follow  neither  of  these 
methods,  will  yet  have  a  course  suggested  by  his  observation 
and  experience.  And  in  order  to  do  this,  the  parish  also 
must  become  to  him  a  whole — a  unity ;  as,  indeed,  it  is  to 
every  accurate  and  thoughtful  observer.  It  has  a  life  of  suc- 
cessive phases ;  it  receives  from  our  ministry  a  development 
which  authorizes  and  should  induce  us  to  modify  our  preach- 
ing :  there  is,  or  there  should  be,  between  the  pastor  and  his 
flock,  a  common  life  which  they  mutually  experience,  which 
modifies  the  audience  through  the  preacher,  and  the  preacher 
through  his  audience.  Where  the  preacher  does  not  receive 
from  his  life,  as  a  pastor,  the  %oord  of  command  for  his  suc- 
cessive preaching,  we  may  doubt  whether  the  ministry  is  well 
understood  and  well  exercised. 

In  a  community  where  there  are  two  pastors  preaching 
alternately  to  the  same  audience,  it  is  very  desirable  that  they 
should  be  sufficiently  united  in  the  same  plan,  and  that  there 
should  be  so  much  mutual  confidence  and  concert  a.s  to 
enable  each  to  bring  his  preaching  to  bear  on  the  discourses 

*  As  to  the  first  method,  see  Fenclon's  Third  Dialogue  on  Elo- 
quence; as  to  the  second,  see  Burk's  PustoraUhiolonir,  p.  170. 


252  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

of  liis  brother  minister,  so  that,  in  a  certain  sense,  tlie  ad- 
dresses of  both  should  form  only  one  single  discourse — should 
constitute  a  whole,  in  which  repetition  should  be  avoided  not 
less  than  collision. 


§  V. — DIFFERENT  CLASSES  UNITED  IN  THE  SAME  AUDIENCE. 

The  unity  of  a  parish  admits  of  classes,  and  of  classes  which 
are  very  distinct  from  one  another.  In  a  spiritual  point  of 
view,  there  are  the  converted  and  the  unconverted ;  or,  if  it 
is  preferred,  those  who  have  not  yet  received  the  gospel, 
whether  they  admit  or  deny  the  revelation,  or  are  in  doubt 
on  this  point,  or  are  in  uncertainty  and  confusion,  but  who 
are  all  equal  in  this  respect,  that  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ  is 
still  either  an  offence  or  foolishness  ',  and  those  who,  consent- 
ing to  seek  for  salvation  in  Jesus  Christ,  desire  during  the 
remainder  of  their  course  to  gain  ever-increasing  confidence 
in  their  hopes,  and  to  walk  with  ever-increasing  steadfastness 
as  Christ  himself  walked.  Shall  a  minister  preach  alter- 
nately for  both  of  these?  or,  rather,  shall  there  not  be  in 
every  discourse  something  adapted  to  each  ?  I  believe  that 
the  essential  point  is,  so  to  speak,  that  no  one  may  be  able  to 
deceive  himself  as  to  the  indispensable  condition  of  salvation, 
and,  which  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  of  sanctification. 
This  being  assumed,  formal  and  explicit  classifications  do  not 
seem  to  me  to  be  necessary ;  and  I  believe  that  they  are  liable 
to  more  than  one  inconvenience,  especially  when  they  take  a 
direct  and  colloquial  form,  as  is  ordinarily  the  case  with  some 
preachers.  Describe,  as  opportunity  may  suggest,  the  condi- 
tion of  both  these  classes,  but  do  not  formally  designate  and 
aim  at  them ;  do  not  teach  your  hearers  to  separate  themselves 
into  "fenvious  and  hostile  groups.*    Doubtless  the  audience  in- 

*  For  a  minister  to  separate  his  hearers  into  two  classes,  and  to 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  253 

eludes  several  classes  of  men ;  I  will  even  assert  that  it  in- 
cludes so  many  shades  of  character  that  your  words  cannot 
be  sufficient  for  all.  We  speak  of  sermons  of  appeal  and 
sermons  for  sanctification ;  make  sermons  of  both  these  char- 
acters, and  let  the  same  sermon  present  successively  the  two 
elements ;  but  never  forget  that  the  word  of  appeal  may  be 
applicable  to  those  who  have  already  responded  to  it.  In  one 
sense,  every  one,  not  excepting  the  most  advanced,  needs  to 
be  called  afresh ;  and  those  who  arc  most  alienated  from,  and 
unac((uainted  with,  religion,  may  be  called  by  a  sermon  whose 
object  is  to  sanctify  those  who  have  been  converted :  of  this 
there  are  many  examples.  Conversion  is  only  one  moment 
in  sanctification ;  sanctification  is  only  conversion  repeated, 
continued,  and  prolonged. 

The  audience  may  be  regarded  according  to  many  other 
S3'stems  of  classification.  The  only  one  of  importance  which 
we  need  now  allude  to  is,  the  distinction  between  the  learned 
and  the  unlearned.  St.  Paul  declared  himself  to  be  a  debtor 
to  both  of  these.  I  would  not  desire  that  the  claims  of  the 
learned  should  be  neglected;  but,  except  in  certain  cases, 
which  we  may  easily  represent  and  take  account  of,  the 
preacher  has  before  him  a  mingled  audience  of  learned  and 
illiterate,  in  which  the  latter  form  the  majority.  Now  what 
is  necessary  for  the  second  of  these  is  adapted  to  the  first; 
but  what  is  especially  suitable  for  the  first,  is  not  appropriate 
for  the  second.  The  man  who  is  acquainted  with  bis  subject 
will  know  how  to  speak  to  the  illiterate  so  as  to  interest  and 
instruct  the  learned.     Depth  and  simplicity  meet  at  the  same 

fidcircss  tbem,  in  their  turns,  in  such  phrases  as  these:  "Yon,  who 
arc  sinners  accepted  by  grace — you,  awakened  sinners — you,  unre- 
pentant sinners" — this  only  tends  to  irritate  :  present  before  all  the 
clear  mirror  of  the  gospel,  and  each  one,  while  he  is  looking  into 
i(,  will  see  witli  what  class  he  is  identified. — Praktischc  Bemerkungfn, 
p.  38. 


254  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

point :  if  you  have  an  audience  composed  of  forty-nine 
learned  persons  and  one  ignorant,  speak  for  that  one  ignorant 
person.  The  differences  which  exist  between  the  several 
classes  of  an  audience  should  rather  be  effaced  than  perpetu- 
ated ;  the  man  of  accidental  and  special  qualities  ought  to 
disappear,  and  the  universal  man  to  take  his  place :  this  is 
demanded  alike  by  the  influence  of  the  ministry,  the  gran- 
deur of  true  eloquence,  and  the  efficiency  of  preaching. 
Prepare  your  discourse  carefully,  with  a  regard  for  all  your 
hearers,  indiscriminately;  but  let  not  one  particular  class 
find  reason  to  imagine  that  you  aim  at  pleasing  their  fancies 
and  securing  their  approbation.  In  Germany  sermons  have 
been  made  fur  Gehildete — [for  the  cultivated  classes :  con- 
ciones  ad  cleruin.'\  What  are  these  sermons?  Great  elo- 
quence is  popular ;  the  greatest  orators  have  been  popular. 
Bourdaloue  himself,  with  all  his  elaborate  composition,  wa-i 
popular. 

§  VI. POPULARITY. — FAMILIARITY. AUTHORITY. — 

UNCTION. 

Popularity  and  familiarity  [are  qualities  distinct,  yet 
similar.  The  first  sees  in  an  audience  only  the  people,  the 
masses,  the  man ;  familiarity  attaches  to  the  relations  exist- 
ing not  only  between  religion  and  man,  but  between  the  pas- 
tor and  his  parish,  which  is,  as  it  were,  his  family.  Fami- 
liarity is  distinct  from  vulgarity ;  it  is  quite  compatible  with 
nobility  of  style,  and,  rightly  apprehended,  its  language  is 
the  most  noble.  In  this  familiarity  of  a  pastor  with  his 
hearers  there  is  something  analogous  to  the  friendly  grasp  of 
the  naked  hand  which  attends  the  meeting  of  those  who  are 
attached  to  one  another ;  the  warmth  of  life  is  felt  on  both 
sides  when  the  hand  is  bared,  ungloved ;  and  this  is  done  in 
order  that  all  barriers  between  man  and  man  may  be  re- 
moved.] 


TASTORAL    LIFE.  255 

Authority,  objectively  considered,  is  cither  the  right  or 
the  advantage  of  being  obeyed  or  believed;  subjectively 
considered,  it  is  the  feeling  of  this  right.  A  preacher 
speaks  with  authority  when  he  feels  in  his  language  a 
consciousness  of  this  right,  and  that  this  consciousness  is 
just. 

In  this  second  sense  we  may  say  that  authority  is  essen- 
tial to  eloquence  in  general,  essential  to  preaching  in  par- 
ticular, and  that  it  is  not  out  of  place  in  any  one  who 
speaks ;  but  it  has  conditions,  means,  obstacles. 

In  general,  in  order  to  speak  with  authority,  we  must  be 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  what  wc  utter,  believe  in  the  in- 
trinsic power  of  truth,  and  be  thoroughly  impressed  with  the 
importance  of  the  interests  in  advocacy  of  which  we  arc 
speaking;  we  must  also  have  a  certain  kind  of  self-confid- 
ence, (not  arrogance.)  These  things  act  on  the  audience 
immediately  and  mediately  :  immediately,  by  their  own  natural 
force — we  willingly  believe  him  who  believes  himself;  medi- 
ately by  the  calmness  and  serenity  which  they  impart — we 
must  explain  rather  than  discuss.     . 

As  to  the  individual  preacher,  his  authority  depends  upon 
his  speaking  not  in  his  own  name,  but  in  the  name  of  God, 
and  upon  his  reliance,  not  on  the  power  of  his  own  word, 
but  on  the  power  of  the  word  and  Spirit  of  God ;  lastly,  it 
depends  on  his  looking  for  praise  from  God,  and  not  from 
man.  On  this  account  his  authority  must  be  regarded  as  a 
duty — the  absence  of  it  as  a  sin.  That  which  he  adds  to 
this  authority  from  his  own  nature — experience  of  the  truth,* 
and  agreement  between  his  life  and  his  doctrinc,f  belong  to 
causes  which  we  have  already  indicated ;  these  arc  not  the 

*  "  That  which  w.as  from  the  beginning,  which  wc  have  heard, 
which  wc  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we  have  looked  upon,  and 
our  hands  have  handled  of  the  word  of  life."    1  John  i.  1. 

f  Nil  Conscire  Sihi.     Herat.  Ep.,  i.  61. 


256  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

source  of  liis  autliority,  but  they  flow  from  the  same  source 
as  it  flows  from. 

One  thing  which  especially  derogates  from  the  preacher's 
authority,  even  in  the  case  of  honestly  believing,  pious,  and 
courageous  men,  is  too  much  reasoning  and  vehemence. 
[Doubtless  the  preacher  ought  to  prove,  and  to  do  so  in  order 
that  others  may  share  his  conviction,  but  it  is  sufficient  for 
him  to  state  the  truth — and  this  Jesus  Christ  himself  did 
most  lucidly.  Indeed,  Christian  truth  is  perceived  by  intu- 
ition. Undoubtedly  much  may  be  done  by  a  free  exposition; 
but  in  too  great  asseveration  an  unduly  defensive  attitude  is 
assumed,  and  thus  authority  is  weakened.  Nevertheless,  it 
does  not  follow  that  we  must  submit  to  say — Believe  because 
I  believe.  Always  is  it  necessary  that  the  force  of  demon- 
stration should,  in  one  form  or  another,  exist  in  what  we 
say. 

[Authority  is  diminished  by  vehemence.  It  is  appropriate 
to  certain  occasions,  but  the  ordinary  tone  of  preaching  is  that 
of  tranquil  force.  Severity  is  much  more  impressive  than 
violence.  The  style  of  Bourdaloue  was  that  of  calm,  subdued 
sadness;  that  of  Bossuet,  luminous  serenity.] 

[Has  the  Protestant  preacher  an  amount  of  authority  equal 
to  that  of  the  Catholic  ?  Catholicism  is  backed  by  an  im- 
posing human  (and  consequently  factitious)  authority;  re- 
ligion, so  to  speak,  delegates  her  authority  to  her  ministers. 
The  Protestant  is  the  representative  of  free  inquiry;  he  is 
only  supported,  (humanly  speaking,)  by  himself;  he  speaks 
as  an  individual :  has  he  not,  moreover,  sufficient  authority  if 
he  is  a  Christian  ?  In  the  Protestant  Church  there  may  be 
a  certain  kind  of  Catholicism  which  lends  to  the  ministry  as 
much  authority  as  Catholicism,  properly  so  called,  lends  to 
the  priest.  When  the  whole  community  is  by  law  constituted 
a  Church,  there  is  a  compact  mass,  (a  unity,)  which  invests 
the  minister  with  authority.     However,  the  course  of  ideas 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  257 

lias  left  most  men  tolerably  unconccrued  about  pastoral  au- 
thority.] In  our  days  this  majority  is  disorganized,  or  rather 
the  true  majority  is  shown.  This  is  not  a  state  which  is 
worse  known,  but  which  is,  on  the  contrary,  better  known, 
[The  number  of  believers,  and  the  faith  itself,  have  not  suf- 
I'ered  thereby.  Without  question,  the  position  of  the  pastor, 
in  regard  to  his  flock,  has  changed,  but  the  preacher  always 
has  his  flock — his  sheep.  Many  do  not  wish  to  remain  in  or 
to  enter  the  fold.  We  must  become  missionaries.  But  if 
this  new  position  is  difficult,  it  is  also  noble.]  It  neither  de- 
stroys nor  enfeebles  authority — it  purifies  it,  and  reduces  it 
to  its  true  elements.  [Authority  becomes  truly  an  authority 
of  conviction.]     The  priest  is  "  a  supplicating  monarch."* 

[In  our  day,  is  the  sentiment  of  authority  stronger,  or  is  it 
less  diff"used  and  weaker  ?  I  will  not  venture  to  reply.  It 
seems,  however,  to  me,  that  the  preacher  does  not  take  to 
himself  all  the  authority  which  he  might  have.] 

The  modcsfi/  or  humilifi/  which  should  prevent  us  from 
speaking  or  acting  with  authority,  would  be  a  sorry  excuse. 
We  may  not  be  modest  or  humble  on  account  of  God  and  at 
the  expense  of  truth.  Though  we  may  be  addressing  many 
who  are  superior  to  us  in  all  merely  personal  relations,  wc 
have  yet  the  superiority  which  is  derived  from  our  commis- 
sion. An  ambassador,  a  plenipotentiary  does  not  regard  what 
he  is,  but  the  powers  with  which  ho  is  invested,  and  the  most 
modest  may,  with  such  a  sanction,  become  peremptory. 
There  is  doubtless  a  diff"crcnce  between  him  and  us  which  in- 
volves us  in  the  error  or  blame  attaching  to  results  which  arc 
partly  within  our  own  control.  Wc  feel  that  we  must  not 
only  rrjiresenf,  but  that  we  must  he,  and  that  what  we  arc 
cither  corroborates  or  impairs  our  speech.  But  if,  becau.'jc 
our  own  character  will  never  rise  to  the  heiirht  of  our  mis- 


*  St.  Deuvc.     Port-Royal,  vol.  i.,  p.  309. 
9 


258  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

sion,  wc  therefore  fail  to  fulfil  that  mission,  it  will  never  be 
fulfilled  by  any  one.  Whatever  we  may  be,  we  carry  these 
treasures  in  earthen  vessels,  which  will  never  be  golden  ves- 
sels; but  it  is  God  himself  who  has  ordained  that  such  ves- 
sels shall  bear  and  distribute  his  treasures.  If  we  feel  our- 
selves humbled  by  the  inevitable  comparison  between  the 
vessel  and  the  treasure  which  it  contains,  this  humiliation  is 
good — it  leads  us  to  renounce  all  native  authority,  and  to  rest 
entirely  on  the  authority  of  God.  Doubtless  there  is  a  state 
which  disqualifies  us  from  taking  the  statutes  of  God  upon 
our  lips — it  is  the  state  in  which  we  are  when  we  "hate  in- 
struction." Ps.  1.  17.  But  if  the  humiliation  which  we 
experience  as  feeble  Christians,  and  even  in  proportion  as  our 
Christian  life  becomes  fuller  and  more  mature,  shall  hinder 
us  from  rebuking,  it  should  also  hinder  us  from  teaching ;  for 
teaching  is  equally  above  us,  and  all  teaching  rebukes.  So  far 
from  humility  having  a  just  tendency  to  impair  our  authority, 
the  fact  is  that  authority  shall  be  tempted  and  purified  by 
humility.  It  is  well  for  us  to  say,  ^'■Homines  sumus,  nee  aluid 
quajn  fragiles  Jiomincs,  ctiamsi  angeli  a  omdtis  oesiimamur 
ct  dicimur.^'  We  are  men,  naught  but  frail  men,  although 
many  may  regard  and  speak  of  us  as  angels. 

St.  Paul  desires  Titus  (oh.  ii.  15)  to  "rebuke  with  all  au- 
thority."•j'  Rebuke,  which  is  an  element  of  preaching,  is  a 
principal  feature  of  the  pastoral  ofiice.  [And,  moreover,  how 
can  he  refrain  from  it  ?  Have  we  any  right  to  be  merciful 
if  we  have  not  been  in  the  first  place  severe  ?  Will  our 
hearers  feel  pardon  if  they  have  not  first  perceived  con- 
demnation ?]    I  do  not  here  speak  of  individual  rebuke  spe- 

*  De  Imitatione  Christi. 

I  "With  righteousness  shall  he  judge  the  poor,  and  reprove  with 
equity  for  the  meek  of  the  earth ;  and  he  shall  smite  the  earth  with 
the  rod  of  his  mouth,  and  with  the  breath  of  his  lips  shall  he  slay 
the  wicked."     Isa.  xi.  4. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  259 

cially  applied,  but  of  that  which  is  appropriate  to  the  pulpit. 
Though  it  is  easier  than  the  jQrst  kind,  [since  it  reaches  every 
one  and  wounds  fewer  individuals,]  yet  it  is  difficult,  because 
of  its  publicity,  the  solemnity  attending  it,  and  the  small 
range  which  it  can  comprehend.  [Being  collective,  it  is  more 
general,  less  pointed,  less  pungent.]  It  is,  however,  to  be 
understood  that  I  am  speaking  of  censure  as  applied  to  a  con- 
gregation, as  a  special  individuality,  not  as  an  undistinguished 
section  of  humanity.  [We  must  place  our  finger  on  the 
blemish  which  is  peculiar  to  the  people  before  whom  we 
speak.  This  special  censure  is  necessary  if  the  congregation 
is  a  reality,  and  will  render  the  people  more  serious,  will  give 
them  a  feeling  that  directly  grasps  their  individual  existence, 
and  their  relations  with  the  pastor.  This  is  a  mighty  influ- 
ence when  it  is  exercised  as  it  ought  to  be.] 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  times  and  places  will  not  allow 
always  the  same  kind  of  rebuke.  We  have  not  even  the 
same  liberty  before  a  mixed  audience  as  before  a  special  and 
selected  church.  A  young  man  cannot  say  so  much  as  an 
old  man.  Nevertheless  I  do  not  see  vfhy  a  minister  should 
shrink  from  doing  that  which  any  private  individual  would 
do  with  his  pen,  who  should  assume  the  position  of  censor  of 
morals.  Only  it  will  be  necessary.  First,  that  he  should 
avoid  all  appearance  of  personality,  and  therefore  he  must 
not  present  portraits.  His  aim  must  not  be  to  nourish  ma- 
lignity. Secondly,  that  he  .should  prefer  direct  censure  to 
oblique  allusions.  Thirdly,  that  he  should  well  remember 
that  the  wrath  of  man  worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God, 
and  that  in  general  the  fruit  of  righteousness  is  sown  in 
peace.  [If  irritation  is  caused  by,  the  truth,  then  we  need. 
not  be  apprehensive  concerning  it;  but  if  it  is  caused  by 
ourselves,  then  we  are  responsible.  A  satirical  spirit  can  do 
no  good.  Young  preachers  ought  to  be  ever  watchful,  lest 
they  should  unguardedly  and  unconsciously  yield  to  a  tempta- 


260  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

tion  whieli  is  as  natural  as  it  is  subtle — that  of  making'  the 
pulpit  simply  a  weapon  of  authoritative  censure.  Vehemence, 
a  holy  indignation,  may  sometimes  be  allowed,  but  invective 
is  never  permissible.*  If  indignation  is  impressive,  anger 
causes  excitement  and  revolt;  and  this  is  just — for  we  may 
hate  evil  without  loving  good. 

[According  to  our  habits  of  preaching,  eulogy  is  seldom  to 
be  heard  from  the  pulpit.  And  yet  St.  Paul  has  given  us 
several  examples  of  this  in  his  addresses  to  certain  Churches. 
We  may  not  then  proscribe  the  language  of  praise  and  appro- 
bation. However,  when  we  remember  what  the  primitive 
Churches  were,  we  can  easily  understand  that  what  was  then 
done  cannot  be  done  so  frequently  now.] 

Unction. — This  word,  taken  according  to  its  etymology  and 
original  acceptation,  does  not  designate  any  special  quality 
in  preaching,  but  rather  the  grace  and  efficacy  which  are 
added  to  it  by  the  Spirit  of  God — a  kind  of  seal  and  sanction 
which  is  proved  less  by  external  signs  than  by  the  impression 
which,  is  made  upon  the  soul  of  the  hearer.  But  as,  in 
tracing  this  eflFect  to  its  cause,  we  may  particularly  distinguish 
certain  characteristics,  it  is  to  the  combination  of  these 
qualities  that  the  name  of  impressiveness,  or  unction,  has 
been  given.  Unction  appears  to  me  to  be  the  general  char- 
acteristic of  the  gospel,  recognizable,  undoubtedly,  in  its 
several  parts,  but  especially  observable  in  its  general  effect ; 
it  is  the  general  savor  of  Christianity;  it  is  a  gravity  aecom- 

*  As  to  Pascal's  invectives  in  the  Provincial  Letters,  see  Vinet's 
Etudes  sur  Pascal,  pp.  243-250. 

[See  also  C.  Wesley's  hymn  "for  a  minister  before  preaching,"  be- 
ginning, "Equip  me  for  the  war,"  and  ending  with  this  stanza: 

O  may  I  learn  the  art, 

With  meekness  to  reprove ! 
To  hate  the  sin  with  all  my  heart, 

But  still  the  sinner  love. 

— T.  0.  S.] 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  261 

panicd  with  tenderness,  a  severity  tempered  by  mildness, 
majesty  united  to  intimacy;  it  is  the  true  temper  of  the 
Christian  disposition,  in  which,  according  to  the  expression 
of  the  Psahnist,  ''  mercy  and  truth  are  met  together,  right- 
eousness and  peace  have  kissed  each  other."  Psalm  Ixxxv.  10. 
So  much  is  this  an  attribute  peculiar  to  Christianity  and 
to  Christian  things,  that  wc  are  seldom  induced  to  transpose 
the  term  to  other  spheres ;  and  when  we  find  it  applied  to 
other  things  than  Christian  discourse  and  action,  we  arc  as- 
tonished, and  we  can  only  find  there  some  analogy  or  meta- 
phor. 

[From  the  fact  that  the  modern  world  has  been  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  Christian  influences,]  many  modern  works 
which  are  neither  Christian  nor  religious  have  a  characteris- 
tic which  we  can  only  designate  by  the  term  unction  ;*  while 
no  work  of  antiquity  indicates  such  a  spirit. 

The  idea  which  Maury  gives  of  unction  is  identical  with 
that  of  Christian  pathos.  Blair's  definition  is  more  distinctly 
identical  with  our  own.  He  says :  "  Gravity  and  warmth 
united,  form  that  character  of  preaching  which  the  French 
call  Onction;  the  aff"ecting,  penetrating,  interesting  manner, 
flowing  from  a  strong  sensibility  of  heart  in  the  preacher  to 
the  importance  of  those  truths  which  he  delivers,  and  an 
earnest  desire  that  they  should  make  full  impression  on  the 
hearts  of  his  hearers. "f 

M.  Dutoit  Membrini  thinks  that,  in  order  to  define  unction, 
an  inner  and  mysterious  quality,  we  must  avoid  formal  defi- 
nition and  analysis.  He  seeks  to  describe  it  by  its  effects 
and  by  analogies,  or,  still  better,  by  experience.  *'  Unction," 
he  says,  "  is  a  gentle  warmth  which  is  experienced  in  the 

*  Maury's  Essay  on  the  Eloquence  of  the  Pulpit,  chap.  Ixxiii.,  on 
Unction. 

f  Blair's  Lectures  on  Rhetoric  and  Belles  Lettres,  Lee.  xxix.,  p.  332. 


262  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

powers  of  the  soul ;  it  enlightens  and  it  inspires.  It  gives 
light  to  the  soul,  and  warmth  to  the  heart.  It  enables  us  to 
know  and  to  love;  it  clothes  its  subject  with  interest." 

I  would  willingly  say  that  it  is  a  light  which  warms,  and  a 
heat  which  illumines.  And,  on  this  point,  I  would  recall  to 
your  recollection  the  words  of  St.  John :  "  The  anointing 
(unction)  which  ye  have  received  of  him  abideth  in  you,  and 
ye  need  not  that  any  man  teach  you :  .  .  .  the  same  anointing 
teacheth  you  of  all  things,  and  is  truth,  and  is  no  lie."  1  John 
ii.  27. 

M.  Dutoit  Membrini  continues:  "Its  only  source  is  the 
spirit  of  regeneration  and  of  grace.  It  is  a  gift  which  is 
soon  expended  and  lost,  if  we  do  not  revive  this  sacred  fire, 
which  should  always  be  kept  burning.  That  which  promotes 
it  is  the  cross  within  the  soul,  self-denial,  prayer,  and  peni- 
tence. 

"Unction  is  that  in  religious  subjects  which  in  poets  has 
been  called  enthusiasm.  Thus  unction  exists  when  the  heart 
and  the  powers  of  the  spirit  have  been  nourished  and  em- 
braced by  the  gentleness  of  Divine  grace.  It  is  a  mild,  deli- 
cate, living,  interior,  profound,  attractive  sentiment. 

"  Unction,  then,  is  this  calm,  gentle,  nourishing  warmth, 
which  is  at  the  same  time  luminous,  which  enlightens  the 
spirit,  penetrates,  interests,  and  ravishes  the  heart,  and  which 
is  communicated  by  him  who  has  received  it  to  the  hearts 
and  souls  which  are  fitted  to  receive  it  also. 

"  Unction  is  felt  by  experience :  it  cannot  be  analyzed.  It 
makes  its  impression  silently  and  unobtrusively,  without  the 
aid  of  reflection.  It  is  communicated  in  simplicity,  and  so 
received  also  by  the  heart  in  which  the  warmth  of  the 
preacher  is  kindled.  Ordinarily,  it  produces  its  efi'ect  while 
no  special  inclination  to  it  is  developed,  without  being  able 
to  explain  to  itself  the  reason  and  origin  of  the  impression  it 
has  received.      We  feel,  we  assent,  we  are  moved,  we  can 


PASTORAL    LIFE,  263 

hardly  assign  any  reason  why.  We  may  apply  to  him  who 
possesses  it  the  words  of  the  prophet  Isaiah  :  '  Behold,  I  will 
make  thee  a  new  sharp  threshing  instrument  having  teeth.' 
Isa.  xli.  15.  Such  a  man  breaks  up  the  fallow  ground  of  the 
heart."* 

From  all  that  has  been  said,  we  must  not  conclude  that 
unction,  which  is  founded  much  upon  the  same  principles  as 
piety,  is  exactly  proportionate  to  piety.  The  unction  of  two 
preachers  who  are  equal  in  piety  may  be  unequal ;  but  it  is 
so  intimately  united  to  Christianity,  that  it  cannot  be  entirely 
absent  in  preaching  that  is  truly  Christian. 

Certain  obstacles,  some  natural,  some  arising  from  error  or 
liabit,  may  injure  unction,  and  obstruct,  so  to  speak,  the 
passage  of  that  sacred  and  gentle  oil  which  ought  everywhere 
to  flow,  to  lubricate  all  the  articulations  of  thought,  to  render 
all  the  movements  of  a  discourse  easy  and  just,  to  impene- 
trate and  nourish  the  words  of  the  preacher.  There  is  no 
artificial  mode  of  acquiring  unction.  Oil  flows  naturally 
from  the  olive ;  the  most  violent  pressure  will  not  extract  a 
drop  from  earth  or  from  a  flint.  But  there  are  means,  if  I 
may  so  speak,  of  being  not  unctuous,  even  when  there  is  a 
true  basis  of  piety,  or  of  dissimulating  the  unction  that  is 
in  us,  and  hindering  its  outward  flow.  There  are  things 
which  are  incompatible  with  unction,  such  as  wit,f  too  rigor- 
ous analysis,  a  too  dogmatic  tone,  too  formal  dialectics,  irony, 
the  use  of  a  secular  or  excessively  abstract  vocabulary,  a  too 
literary  style — lastly,  a  style  that  is  too  compact  and  continu- 
ous ;  for  unction  implies  abundance,  overflowing,  fluency, 
winning  affability. 

The  idea  of  unction  is  rather  excited  by  its  absence  than 

*  Dutoit  Membrini's  Christian  Philosophy.  Lausanne,  1800,  vol. 
i.,  pp.  02,  etc. 

f  [Yet  St.  Bernard  and  St.  Augustin  have  both  vrit  and  unction.] 


264  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

by  its  presence.  There  are  characteristics  which  are  opposed 
to  it  and  which  bring  the  idea  forward  with  prominence, 
although  it  is  not  a  negative,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  a  most 
positive  quality — but  positive  in  the  same  sense  that  an  odor, 
a  color,  a  taste,  are  positive. 

But  let  us  not  limit  the  idea  of  unction  by  reducing  it  to 
a  gentle  mildness,  a  verbose  abundance,  a  tearful  pathos.  Let 
us  guard  against  the  mistake  of  thinking  that  we  cannot  be 
unctuous  except  on  the  condition  of  proscribing  rigor  and 
consecutiveness  of  thought,  and  that  confidence  of  tone,  that 
holy  vehemence,  which  some  subjects  demand,  and  without 
which,  when  we  treat  them,  we  shall  do  them  injustice.  In 
the  opinion  of  Maury,  Massillon  is  unctuous  in  a  passage  full 
of  reproaches.*  [We  may  refer  also  to  another  example  in 
the  close  of  Bossuet's  sermon  on  "  Final  Impenitence."] 

§  VII. — FORM   OP  PREACHING. 

The  true  form  of  a  sermon  is  determined  by  the  combined 
impression  which  it  contains  of  the  subject  and  of  the  sub- 
jectivity of  the  orator.  The  form  of  a  sermon  recognizes 
only  these  two  laws,  which,  so  far  from  clashing,  harmonize 
with  one  another. 

As  to  the  general  forms  which  may  be  found  in  different 
preachers — such  as  the  psychological  form  and  the  logical 
form — the  continuous  discourse,  the  discourse  consisting  of 

*  Maury's  Eloquence  of  the  Pulpit,  chap.  Ixxii.,  on  Unction.  See 
the  close  of  the  first  division  in  Massillon's  Sermon  on  Alms. 

[These  remarks  on  unction  are  doubtless  generally  judicious ;  never- 
theless, as  the  author  intimates,  they  are  to  be  received  with  some 
qualification.  Dr.  Donne  is  frequently  both  witty  and  unctuous; 
Saurin  sometimes  blends  unction  with  invective,  and  Jeremy  Taylor 
has  it,  notwithstanding  the  "literary"  and  "continuous"  character 
of  his  style.— T.  0.  S.] 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  265 

parallel  developments,  or  tlie  discourse  which  combines  these 
two  in  an  involved  method — the  analytical  sermon,  and  the 
synthetical  sermon — these  forms  are  by  no  means  conven- 
tional or  artificial ;  they  axe  not  so  much  differences  in  form 
as  in  thought,  in  points  of  view,  in  the  mode  in  which  preach- 
ing and  the  subject  arc  conceived.  They  exist  in  the  subject 
itself,  and  in  the  human  mind,  anterior  to  all  traditional 
methods. 

Between  the  conventional  and  the  spontaneous  form  there 
is  the  same  difference  as  between  the  two  psychological  sys- 
tems, one  of  which  makes  the  protuberances  of  the  skull  to 
depend  on  the  interior  development  of  the  brain,  and  the 
other  of  which  makes  these  same  developments  to  depend  on 
the  protuberances  of  the  skull ;  the  one  expressing  and  in- 
ferring the  inward  by  the  outward,  the  other  confining  and 
determining  the  inward  by  the  outward;  the  one  subordinat- 
ing the  external  to  the  internal,  the  other  the  internal  to  the 
external.  For  our  part,  we  desire  that  what  is  outward  should 
be  a  growth  out  of  that  which  is  within ;  and  with  regard  to 
form,  we  would  give  no  other  rule. 

This  rule,  however,  we  will  assert ;  and,  in  order  to  ob- 
serve it,  it  must  be  adopted  with  a  resolute  and  vigorous  de- 
termination, for  we  shall  be  incessantly  solicited  to  return 
to  arbitrary  forms ;  or  rather,  being  born  in  the  midst  of 
them,  we  shall  find  it  difiacult  to  withdraw  ourselves  from 
their  dominion.  Now,  let  it  be  observed,  that  the  most  natu- 
ral forms  tend  constantly,  through  servile  and  unintelligent 
imitation,  to  become  conventional  types.  This  is,  as  it  were, 
a  liquid  which  is  ever  on  the  point  of  being  coagulated,  and 
which  we  must  ever,  by  warmth  and  native  life,  preserve  in, 
or  restore  to,  its  fluid  state,  in  order  that  we  may  have,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  form  which  is  natural  to  our  subject,  our  aim, 
and  our  mind.* 

*  See  Herder's  Briefr  dan  Studium  dcr  Thcologie  bctreffend,  vol.  i. 


266  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

By  the  form  of  preaching,  I  understand  not  only  the  struc- 
ture or  the  architecture  of  the  discourse,  but  the  tone,  the 
language,  and  even  the  subject;  for  the  introduction  of  new 
subjects  is  a  kind  of  change  in  the  form  of  preaching.  These 
constitute  merely  the  form  of  an  act  in  which  there  is  to  be 
nothing  special  and  particular,  apart  from  its  being  a  discourse 
on  the  things  of  God.  Accordingly,  when  the  life  of  a  man 
of  God  is  made  the  subject  of  discourse,  as  Catholics  dis- 
course on  the  life  of  their  saints,  only  the  form  and  not  the 
object  of  preaching  is  changed,  since  a  life  may  serve  as  well 
for  the  text  of  a  sermon  as  a  proposition.  On  this  subject  a 
new  question,  as  regards  the  form,  will  remain  to  be  con- 
sidered— but  an  inferior  and  subordinate  question. 

Now,  whatever  extension  we  may  give  to  the  idea  of  form, 
I  believe  it  may  be  affirmed  that  our  present  form  is  too  nar- 
row, and  that  we  limit  ourselves  to  it  unreasonably.  There 
is  too  great  a  uniformity,  too  constant  a  return  to  the  same 
form,  too  frequent  a  reproduction  of  the  same  discourses, 
and  of  the  same  preachers.*  There  is  something  rigid  and 
scholastic  in  the  structure  of  our  discourses,  looking  at  them 
separately.  While  all  things  are  being  reformed,  and  while, 
in  the  train  of  this  general  reform,  every  thing  has  been 
effaced  which  tends  unduly  to  separate  ends  and  means,  the 
sermon  has  preserved  a  somewhat  superannuated  costume. 

Even  the  language  has  adopted  a  costume.  We  are  far 
from  disliking  and  discountenancing  a  biblical  language; 
there  is  a  language  proper  to  religion — terms  introduced  to 
designate  things  that  are  either  new  or  are  renewed;  for 
through  Christianity  "all  things  have  become  new,"  and 
words  must  necessarily  share  in  this  change.    But  why  should 

*  On  individuality  in  the  foi'in  of  a  sermon,  (a  rare  quality!)  see 
Theremin,  Die  Beredsamkeit  eine  Tugend.  Second  Edition.  Berlin, 
1837.     Introduction,  p.  xxiii. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  267 

it  be  thought  necessary  to  call  things  only  by  their  biblical 
names  ?  In  order  more  thoroughly  to  reproduce  the  spirit 
of  the  sacred  writers,  they  should  be,  not  so  much  models 
for  our  imitation,  as  influences  for  our  inspiration.  They 
used  the  liberty  which  we  deny  to  ourselves  in  their  name. 
Wc  need  not  banish  ourselves  from  spheres  from  which  they 
appear  to  have  banished  themselves,  but  which,  in  reality, 
they  had  no  occasion  to  enter.  According  to  this  antiquated 
pulpit  purism,  Paul  did  wrong  in  quoting  Aratus  and  Epi- 
menides.  Most  true  is  it  that  we  should  be  cautious  against 
affording  in  the  temple  an  asylum  to  all  those  worldly  recol- 
lections which  our  hearers,  if  they  are  in  a  suitable  state,  have 
loft  outside ;  still  it  is  very  useful  to  call  certain  things  by 
the  names  which  are  given  to  them  in  the  language  of  ordi- 
nary life.* 

The  rule  of  preaching  from  one  text  is  good,  provided  ex- 
ceptions are  allowed ;  it  should  be  lawful  to  preach  without 
any  text,  or  from  two  texts  united.  Indeed,  so  long  as  our 
ministry  and  flocks  are  properly  regarded,  we  may  avail  our- 
selves of  all  advantages.  "All  things  are  yours."  1  Cor. 
iii.  21.  But  let  us  avoid  the  spirit  of  innovation,  which 
changes  for  the  sake  of  change,  or  in  order  to  exhibit  indi- 
vidual independence. 

Among  other  advantages  of  the  Iwmih/ — an  excellent  form 
of  preaching — there  is  this,  that  it  almost  necessarily  breaks 
through  certain  traditional  forms  of  discourse,  such  at  least 
as  refer  to  the  structure  of  the  sermon. 

As  to  delivery,  which  is  the  eloquence  of  the  body,  the 
most  important  precepts  are  negative  ones.f  We  must  recol- 
lect how  multitudes  are  swayed  by  external  influences,  and 
aim,  if  possible,  rather  at  apeaking  than  preaching.     P^vil 

*  Sec  F.urk's  Reflections  on  the  SimpUcctas  Catechelica. 
[Sec  also  Foster's  Essays. — T.  0.  S.] 
f  For  details,  sec  the  Homilctics. 


268  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

habits  and  traditions  perpetuate  themselves ;  good  ones  be- 
come evil  by  unintelligent  imitation.  (Avoid  a  theatrical, 
excessively  familiar,  brilliant,  flashing  style.) 

§  VIII. — SERMONS   ON   SPECIAL   OCCASIONS  AND  FESTIVALS. 

We  have  said  that  the  fundamental  ideas  and  the  principal 
consequences  of  Christianity  ought  to  reappear  and  be  felt 
in  every  sermon ;  how  much  more  ought  they  to  be  extended 
over  a  continuous  course  of  preaching  !  But  this  does  not 
imply  that  festival  sermons,  and  those  on  the  preceding  Sun- 
days, (the  weeks  of  Advent  and  Lent,)  should  not  have  a 
special  character. 

These  commemorations  are  valuable  and  should  be  re- 
spected, and  if  the  gospel  year  is  of  one  even  tenor,  it  may 
yet  have  more  emphatic,  more  accented  moments.  This  is 
desirable,  and  it  is  welcome  to  every  one ;  and  we  must  take 
into  consideration  the  sad,  but  too  well-established  fact,  that 
these  times  are,  among  us,  the  only  times  which  can  induce 
certain  individuals  in  our  flock  to  enter  the  sanctuary.*  We 
may  be  grave  and  solemn  on  every  subject,  as  was  M.  Manuel, 
who,  on  a  communion  day,  preached  on  the  fifth  command- 
ment ;  but,  in  general,  the  festival  itself  should  be  the  sub- 
ject of  discourse. 

I  would  not  make  the  fast-day  distinguished  by  the  most 
vivid  and  accumulated  reproaches,  but  by  a  national  and 
popular  style  of  thought ;  the  people,  as  such,  then  come  to 
humble  themselves  before  God. 

Sermons  preparatory  to  the  Lord's  Supper  involve  a  deli- 
cate topic.  Much  tact  is  required,  and  solemn  and  accurate 
views  on  the  nature  and  duty  of  communion. 

[*  This  is  not  so  among  us ;  yet  pastors  would  do  well  to  observe 
the  rule  in  the  Methodist  Discipline:  "Always  avail  yourself  of 
the  great  festivals,  by  preaching  on  the  occasion." — T,  0.  S.] 


PASTOR  All    LIFE.  2G0 

We  are  by  no  means  required  to  preach  on  special  circum- 
stances; but  circumstances  may,  when  judiciously  used, 
supply  exceedingly  appropriate  matter  for  our  discourses.  In 
any  cavse  there  is  a  double  task  for  us — to  actualize  what  is 
eternal,  and,  so  to  speak,  to  eternalize  what  is  actual.  If  it 
is  wrong  and  unhappy  in  a  minister  to  be  able  to  see  in  spe- 
cial circumstances  only  an  instrument  for  oratorical  effects,  it 
would  also  be  sad,  were  he  not  to  appropriate  them  in  some 
way  to  edification  by  a  liberal  and  free  use  of  them.  In  such 
cases  the  best  of  all  givides  is  the  simplicity  of  a  Christian 
heart,  and  the  true  point  of  view  is  obtained  by  prayer. 
Every  one  luis  not  the  art  of  making  ingenious  allusions  and 
delicate  applications ;  but  every  one  may  find,  in  the  serious- 
ness of  the  gospel,  a  true  measure,  just  modulations,  and  wise 
precautions. 

§  IX. — MISCELLANEOUS  QUESTIONS  RELATIVE  TO  PREACniNO. 

Lcngili  of  the  sermon. — Long  and  short  are,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, relative  terms.  A  sermon  which  appears  to  carry  us 
with  it  in  the  train  of  thought  appears  comparatively  short, 
[while  a  sermon  in  which  we  can  trace  no  development  of 
idea,  invariably  appears  long.]  We  must  not,  then,  in  preach- 
ing, dwell  on  details,  but  give  progressive  movement  to  the 
sermon.* 

But  there  is  something  also  absolute  in  the  question. 

"Believe  me — I  speak  from  experience,  from  long  experi- 
ence— when  I  say,  the  more  you  utter,  the  less  will  your 
hearers  retain ;  the  less  you  utter,  the  more  will  they  profit. 
Instead  of  filling  the  memory  of  your  audience,  you  over- 
power it,  as  lamps  are  extinguished  by  a  superabundance  of 


*  Compare  in  this  respect  Bourdaloue's  Sermon  on  the  Passion, 
.and  Massillon's  on  C'mstnnmalnm  est. 


270  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

oil,  and  plants  are  destroyed  by  too  much  watering.  When 
a  discourse  is  too  long,  the  conclusion  obliterates  the  middle 
of  it  from  memory,  and  the  middle  the  commencement. 
Moderately  good  preachers  are  acceptable,  provided  they  arc 
short ;  and  excellent  preachers  are  tedious  when  they  are  too 
long.''* 

[In  fact,  we  must  not  make  too  large  a  claim  upon  our 
hearers.  In  the  country  especially,  a  strong  effort  of  atten- 
tion cannot  be  long  sustained ;  but  even  there  a  sermon  that 
is  immoderately  short  is  considered  a  scandal.  Men  feel 
that  grave  matters  cannot  and  ought  not  to  be  precipitated.] 

Repetition  of  sermons. — (That  is  to  say  [the  habit]  of  re- 
producing, after  a  certain  time,  sermons  which  have  been 
already  preached.)  This  subject  should  be  regarded  in  the 
following  light :  A  sermon  may  be  true  in  two  ways,  when 
it  expresses  both  the  truth  and  also  the  preacher  himself. 
We  may  have  nothing  to  change  or  to  retract  in  a  sermon. 
We  may  be  able  fully  to  assent  to  it,  and  yet  we  may  not  be 
able  to  adopt  the  sermon  into  our  own  hearts,  nor  to  find  an 
expression  of  ourselves  in  it.  I  would  by  no  means  dis- 
countenance the  repetition  of  a  good  sermon,  which  may, 
however,  be  modified,  so  as  to  correspond  to  the  existing 
state  of  the  preacher  or  the  existing  needs  of  his  flock.  But 
we  must  be  on  our  guard  against  the  abuse  of  this  custom. 
We  may  soon  be  tempted  to  a  wide  extension  of  the  privi- 
lege, and  be  led  into  a  ridiculous  and  unseemly  excess. 

Is  it  lawful  to  procure  a  substitute  f — In  certain  cases  the 
interests  of  the  flock  may  justify  the  pastor  in  procuring  a 
substitute.  Why  should  Ave  refuse  our  people  a  healthy 
nourishment  which  is  offered  to  it,  or  the  advantage  of  hear- 
ing the  same  truths  from  the  lips  of  two  different  persons,  or 

*  "Guide  to  those  who  proclaim  God's  Word,  containing  the  doc- 
trine of  St.  Francis  de  Sales."     Lyons,  1829.     Pp.  80. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  271 

under  two  difiorcnt  forms  ?  Why  should  wc  deny  ourselves 
a  rest  which  is  perhaps  necessary  for  us,  and  the  advantage 
of  being  hearers,  of  being  preached  to  f  But,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  responsibility  which  belongs  to  us  demands  that 
we  should  only  allow  those  to  preach  for  us  concerning  ^hose 
adaptation  we  are  fully  convinced ;  moreover,  the  succession 
and  continuity  of  instruction  would  sufier  by  too  frequent 
interruptions ;  and  lastly,  a  too  great  readiness  to  offer  our 
pulpit  would  not  I'ail  to  lower  us  in  the  estimation  of  our 
people.  Harms  replies  to  those  who  object — "  But  what  would 
you  say  to  a  case  of  illness," — "Don't  be  ill?''*  [I  would 
rather  say,  Don't  imagine  yourself  to  be  ill.] 

Preparation  for  preaching.  —  [Before  preaching  there 
ought  to  be  an  act  of  humiliation,  "since,"  says  St.  Cyran, 
"  we  ought  to  be  more  apprehensive  of  offending  God  in  tlic 
pulpit  than  elsewhere. "f  The  preacher  should  revive  in  his 
own  mind  the  sense  of  his  unworthiness  and  impotence ;  he 
should  smite  upon  his  breast,  as  the  publican.  To  assume  a 
mission  without  being  called  to  it  is  robbery ;  it  is  also  rob- 
bery to  undertake  it  without  suitable  feelings.  lie  who  feels 
a  carnal  confidence — a  desire  to  advance  to  the  work — is  in 
a  fatally  wrong  state.  We  must  pray,  not  only  for  ourselves, 
with  a  feeling  of  selfish  anxiety,  but  also  and  especially  for 
the  people.  Prayer  for  ourselves  is  good  and  necessary,  but 
it  must  not  be  too  protracted.  The  reason  that  we  pray 
feebly  for  ourselves  is  that  we  pray  too  little  for  others. 
The  heart  ought  to  travail  in  birth  till  Christ  be  formed  in 
souls.] 

Exercises  suitable  to  follow  the  sermon. — After  preaching, 
there  may  be  an  exercise  of  mind  not  less  useful  than  the 
preparation  which  has  preceded  it.  This  comprehends  :  An 
act  of  thanksgiving  [to  God  for   the  honor  which  has  been 

*  Fastoraltheologic,  vol.  i.,  p.  41.     ■}•  Letter  xxxi.,  to  M.  Lc  llebours. 


272  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

conferred  upon  us  of  preaching  the  word  of  life,  for  the 
strength  to  do  it,  for  having  been  preserved  from  error  and 
unconcern  in  it :]  An  act  of  humiliation  and  mortification  j 
we  ought  to  recognize  ourselves  as  unworthy  of  the  great 
ministry  which  we  have  exercised,  and  to  be  fully  sensible  of 
this  unworthiness :  An  act  of  self-examination  and  contri- 
tion, referring  to  the  sins  of  speech  and  the  secret  sins  of 
heart  committed  in  the  pulpit :  Prayer ;  after  having  planted 
and  watered,  we  must  pray  that  God  will  give  the  increase. 
All  this  may  remain  as  a  disposition  of  the  heart,  but  it  is 
useful  to  convert  the  disposition  into  an  act,  to  give  to  things  a 
form  and  an  emphasis.* 

Thejireacher  ought  to  hnoio  what  is  thouf/ht  of  his  discourses. 
— The  words  of  St.  Paul  are  not  of  universal  application, 
"With  me  it  is  a  very  small  thing  that  I  should  be  judged 
of  you  or  of  man's  judgment."  1  Cor.  iv.  3.  Theremin 
thinks  that  the  consciousness  of  having  sought  the  glory  of 
God  is  an  absolute  criterion  of  good  preaching.f  It  is  not 
less  important  to  be  warned  if  there  are  evils  to  be  remedied. 

There  are  indirect  or  tacit  intimations  which  we  need 
never  be  without,  if  we  are  disposed  to  receive  them.  There 
are  eulogies  which  involve  criticism,  as  there  is  also  a  criti- 
cism which  praises  and  a  silence  which  speaks.  The  manner 
of  our  people,  [their  silent  acknowledgment,  shows  us  what  is 
passing  within  them  even  more  plainly]  than  visible  signs  of 
emotion.     But  there  are  many  things  which  we  shall  never 

*  See  on  this  subject  the  "Guide  to  those  who  proclaim  God's 
Word,"  p.  217. 

I  "  He  may  justly  be  content  if  he  has  used  his  utmost  efforts  to 
please  God  and  God  alone.  This  is  not  only  a  good  indication,  but 
the  only  indication  of  the  value  of  preaching ;  we  can  find  no  other ; 
....  not  even  the  blessing  which  may  be  attached  to  a  sermon  can 
be  a  substitute  for  this  guaranty." — Theremin,  Die  Beredsamkdt  cine 
Ttigcnd,  p.  vi. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  273 

know,  or  scarcely  ever,  because  too  unconstrained  and  un- 
reserved a  manner  is  required  in  order  tluit  we  may  learn 
them,  or  too  enlightened  a  judgment  in  order  to  detect  them. 
And  in  the  isolation  in  which  wc  ordinarily  live,  if  we  have 
no  wish  to  be  informed  on  these  points,  we  never  shall  be. 

F.utcs  choix  d'un  ccnseur  solide  et  salutaire 

Que  la  raison  coniluise  et  Ic  savoir  eclaire, 

Et  dont  Ic  crayon  sur  aille  d'abord  chercher  ' 

L'cudroit  que  Ton  sent  faible  et  qu'on  veut  sc  caclier.* 

Aimez  qu'on  vous  conseillc  ct  uou  piis  qu'on  vous  louc.f 

[Wc  may  find  such  a  monitor  in  the  humblest  members  of 
our  flock,  and  not  only  in  a  brother  minister.  A  simple  at- 
tendant upon  our  ministry,  a  poor  woman,  even  a  child,  may 
be  such  a  monitor.  Precaution  is  doubtless  required.  We 
must  not  consult  the  opinion  of  any  one  whom  we  may  chance 
to  meet,  but  it  is  necessary  that  we  should,  by  all  means, 
seek  for  the  truth,  seek  through  every  avenue  to  learn  that 
which  will  instruct  us  in  our  failings.] 

The  immediate  effect  or  impression  of  a  sermon. — Such  an 
effect  is  often  illusory,  and,  whether  for  good  or  evil,  disap- 
points our  hopes.  Many  preachers  have  been  astonished  to 
find  a  smaller  result  from  sermons  of  which  they  had  the 
largest  expectations  of  success,  and  conversely.  [Many  dis- 
courses which  have  proceeded  with  faltering  accents  from  a 
di.stracted  heart,  which  have  been  composed  under  an  oppress- 
ive sense  of  impoverished  resources,  have  been  richly  blessed, 
have  produced  more  eflfect  than  others  which  have  been  pre- 
pared with  facility  and  delight.]  Where  facility,  memory, 
and  even  fervor  have  been  wanting,  the  ray  which,  in  pass- 
ing through  the  medium,  has  left  it  cold,  may  become,  oa 

*  Boileau,  L'Art  Po6tiquc,  chant,  iv. 
f  Ibid.,  chant,  i. 


274  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

the  opposite  side,  a  burning  and  shining  light.*  Often  we 
are  only  occasions  employed  by  the  great  Author  of  bless- 
ing.f 

These  experiences  are  useful  and  even  necessary;  they 
prevent  us  from  appropriating  to  ourselves  our  own  successes, 
and  from  saying  to  ourselves,  I  myself  have  done  all  this. 
They  suppress  the  ego,  which  is  always  to  be  distrusted,  and 
here,  especially  so.  But  we  may  apply  them  to  a  most  mis- 
chievous use  if  we  infer  that  the  good  or  bad  quality  of  our 
own  efforts  is  a  matter  of  indifference.  They  ought  only  to 
teach  us  to  be  neither  discouraged  nor  inflated. 

The  fruits  of  preaching. — The  words,  "By  their  fruits  ye 
shall  know  them,"  (Matt.  vii.  20,)  cannot  be  applied  without 
reserve  to  preachers.  Fruits,  at  least  such  as  are  visible,  are 
not  always  an  accurate  measure  of  zeal  and  devotedness. 

It  is  important  that  the  grace  of  God  should  be  recognized 
as  sovereign,  and  that  we  should  not  be  tempted  to  regard 
ourselves  as  the  efficient  agent  of  our  own  success.  As  we 
see  one  who  has  sown  less,  yet,  to  all  appearance,  reaping 
more,  it  is  a  useful  occasion  for  us  to  learn  the  lesson  that 
God  is  the  supreme  disposer  of  results. 

It  is  important,  also,  that  we  should  not  prescribe  condi- 
tions to  God — that  is,  only  consent  to  sow  on  condition  that 
we  shall  reap.  We  must  be  content  to  give  thanks  that  we 
have  been  permitted  only  to  sow,  even  when  we  are  not  al- 
lowed to  reap.  The  spirit  of  the  minister  has,  in  this,  as  in 
so  many  other  respects,  been  admirably  exhibited  in  the  Gos- 
pel by  John,  (ch.  iv.  36,  37,)  "  He  that  reapeth  receiveth 
wages,  and  gathereth  fruit  unto  life  eternal,  that  both  he  that 
soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  may  rejoice  together ;  and  herein 

*  See  on  this  subject  an  anecdote  related  by  Burk.     Pasioral- 
thcologic  in  Beispielai,  vol.  i.,  p.  241. 
■j-  Burk,  I})icl.,  vol.  i.,  p.  27G. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  275 

is  that  saying  true,  Oncsoweth,  and  another  reapeth."  And 
still  more  must  wo  be  willing  to  wait ;  it  is  necessary  that  the 
prayerfulncss  and  fidelity  of  our  spirit  should  be  tested  by 
waiting.  [Constant  success,  a  harvest  that  should  always 
have  the  same  growth,  would  be  flital.]  "  Do  not  be  discour- 
aged by  the  unproductiveness  of  your  cares  and  instructions 
among  your  people;  God  docs  not  always  reward  the  zeal  of 
his  ministers  with  a  speedy  and  visible  success;  continue  to 
cast  the  holy  seed  abroad,  cultivate  it,  water  it;  ho  who 
giveth  the  increase  will  certainly  cause  it  to  spring  forth  into 
life  in  his  own  time.  We  would  have  our  toils  recompensed 
by  a  sudden  and  visible  fruit ;  but  God  does  not  allow  this, 
lest  we  should  attribute  to  ourselves  and  to  our  own  feeble 
cflforts  a  success  which  can  be  the  work  of  grace  alone.* 

Moreover,  we  must  learn  well  what  the  fruits  of  our  la- 
bors really  are.  They  may  be  great  when  they  seem  to  us 
small.  We  cannot  estimate  them  as  they  are  spread  over  the 
wide  field  of  the  world,  but  only  as  they  are  gathered  into 
our  own  small  granary.  [When  we  see  around  us  the  indica- 
tions of  religious  awakening,  the  Bible  abundantly  circulated, 
the  word  of  God  zealously  proclaimed,  we  may  say  to  our- 
selves. The  wind  of  the  Almighty  has  passed  here.  But  this 
is  only  the  corn  in  the  blade — the  harvest  is  not  yet.  This 
consists  in  charity,  sanctification,  the  entire  aspect  of  a  hum- 
bled and  purified  life.] 

A  very  superficial  impression  may  produce  much  excite- 
ment and  stir;  a  deep  impression  may  be  very  unobtru.sivc. 
We  must  not  too  much  rely  on  results  in  their  earliest  stages, 
nor  distrust  them  in  their  later  ones.  [Sometimes,  after  a 
slight  mist,  the  sun  pierces  the  clouds,  and  makes  a  fine  warm 

*  lMaSHillon'3  Niulli  Synodioul  Discourse,  On  the  Av.iricc  of  llio 
PricHtJiood. 

[Sec  the  nole  on  papc  239. —T.  0.  S.] 


276  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

day;  at  other  times,  a  brilliant  morning  is  followed  by  a 
bleak  and  rainy  day.] 

Without  forgetting  that  there  are  "  few  chosen,"  or  that 
"strait  is  the  gate,  and  few  there  be  that  go  in  thereat,"  our 
object  must  be  to  win  many  souls,  and  not  to  be  satisfied  at 
once  with  a  small  number  of  select  disciples.  We  must 
reckon  among  the  fruits  of  a  good  and  faithful  ministry  not 
only  the  decided  and  striking  awakening  of  some  few  souls, 
but  a  certain  gradual  reform  in  a  large  number.  In  our  esti- 
mate we  must  include  every  thing,  and  not  disproportionately 
value  any  one  thing.  [The  man  who  has  established  order 
in  his  family,  or  in  his  own  personal  habits,  is  already  pre- 
pared to  appreciate  a  higher  truth.  And  why  should  not  the 
minister  become  the  benefactor  of  his  country,  and  strive  to 
establish  good  order  and  good  relations  between  man  and 
man,  and  thus  give  popularity  to  virtue,  and  integrity  to 
manners  ?] 

Success  in  matters  of  oj)in%on,  or  the  popularity  of  preacli- 
in(j. — We  may  honor  a  simple  blossom  with  the  name  of  fruit, 
and  take  success,  so  far  as  opinion  is  concerned,  for  a  real 
success.  Now,  not  only  is  there  a  great  difference  between 
real  success  and  success  in  opinion,  but  this  last,  which  is 
not  necessarily  a  means  of  the  first,  is  often  its  obstacle  and 
its  ruin. 

Popularity  is  dangerous*  because  of  the  gratified  self-love 
which  must  result  from  it,  and,  being  too  attractive  to  us,  may 
lead  us  ultimately  to  accept  as  an  end  what  is  only  intended 
to  be  a  means,  and  may  tempt  us  to  concessions  which  grad- 
ually lead  to  unfiithfulness.  From  that  time  we  have  two 
masters ;  and  "  no  man  can  serve  two  masters,  for  either  he 
will  hate  the  one  and  love  the  other,  or  else  he  will  hold  to 
the  one  and  despise  the  other."     Matt.  vi.  24. 

*  Newton's  Omicron,  Letter  V. 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  277 

We  may  easily  be  deceived  in  our  own  dispositions  and 
motives.  The  increased  excitement  which  we  may  feel  may 
bo  soon  mistaken  for  a  double  fulness  of  zeal  ;*  [we  may  also 
easily  mistake  emotion  for  unction,  and  for  love  a  certain 
warmth  of  benevolence  which  we  give  in  exchange  for  what 
we  have  received.]  We  may  discover  the  just  value  of  such 
animation  and  impulse,  if  we  attempt  to  learn  our  real  in- 
terest in  the  individual  souls  comprising  our  flock ;  we  are  in 
much  danger  if  we  do  not  find  it  unvarying.  [If  the  tem- 
perature of  our  zeal  does  not  lower,  if  it  is  as  lively  out  of 
the  pulpit  as  in,  we  may  trust  to  its  reality ;  but  if  its  en- 
ergy is  damped,  we  may  feel  sure  it  has  been  partly  sustained 
by  our  own  self-love.] 

For  a  preacher  of  high  repute  it  may  be  useful  to  find 
himself  suddenly  deserted,  or  definitely  restored  to  his  true 
level.  He  may  then  learn  what  he  actually  is ;  and  if  ho 
can  withstand  this  crisis,  then  a  true  unction  will  rest  upon 
him  :  either  he  will  from  that  time  make  his  office  a  trade,  or 
his  motives  will  be  purified. 

Between  popularity  and  a  permanent  absence  of  interest 
there  is  a  point,  below  which  it  is  not  desirable  to  descend, 
but  above  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  ascend.  And  perhaps 
it  will  be  found,  some  exceptions  being  allowed,  that  the 
truest  successes  and  the  richest  fruits  have  been  granted  to 
those  who,  so  far  as  talent  is  concerned,  have  received  neither 
poverty  nor  riches,  but  who  have  been  nourished  by  God  with 
"  (Jaily  bread." 

There  are  two  kinds  of  unpopularity — that  arising  from 
weariness  and  nmni,  and  that  arising  from  personal  dislike; 
neither  of  which  is  desirable.  There  is,  besides,  that  which 
attaches  to  doctrine.  Unpopularity  of  this  kind  is  sometimes 
aimed  at,  and  may  be  dangerous.     I  should  not  regard  it  as 

*  Newton's  Omicron,  Letter  V. 


278  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

dangerous  if  it  is  a  natural  result  of  fidelity,  because  wliat- 
ever  is  necessary  cannot  be  dangerous,  or,  if  so,  the  danger 
must  not  be  heeded.  But  we  must  first  learn  whether  this 
unpopularity  is  an  essential  element  in  fidelity.  Some  min- 
isters think  it  is,  and  accordingly  make  it  a  point  of  duty  to 
secure  it.  If  it  is  inevitable  it  must  be  allowed,  but  it  must 
not  be  sought;  and  in  any  case  it  should  not  be  enhanced  by 
the  peculiar  mode  of  presenting  truth  which  we  may  have 
adopted.  I  believe  that  it  is  right,  while  most  rigorously 
guarding  our  integrity,  to  use  all  means  for  avoiding  this  as 
well  as  every  other  kind  of  unpopularity ;  for  if  once  the 
boundary  between  approval  and  disapproval  is  passed,  the 
preacher  is  as  liable  to  seek  for  his  own  interests  in  the  second 
case  as  in  the  first.  The  mere  conviction,  or  at  least  the  too 
frequent  presentation  of  the  idea  that  we  shall  be  unpopular 
in  proportion  as  we  are  faithful,  places  us  in  a  wrong  point  of 
view,  imparts  bitterness  to  our  speech,  induces  us  to  take  up 
an  attitude  of  hostility,*  etc. 

So  much  for  the  question  as  one  of  right.  As  to  the  facts 
of  the  case,  I  believe  it  is  proved  by  numerous  examples  that 
faithful  and  conscientious  preaching  in  the  minister  may  be 
quite  compatible  with  the  utmost  respect,  and  even  afiection, 
in  the  people. f  After  saying  this,  I  would  not  hesitate  to 
say,  that  the  gospel  would  not  be  a  true  gospel  if  it  were  to 
glide  into  the  souls  of  men  with  as  much  facility  and  gentle- 
ness as  the  dogmas  of  natural  religion  or  of  moral  philosophy : 
until  the  Spirit  of  God  has  opened  the  heart  to  receive  his 
teaching,  these  sublime  truths  are  as  bitter  to  the  palate  as 
afterwards  they  will  be  internally  sweet.  In  evangelical 
preaching  there  is  always  a  germ  of  unpopularity,  a  principle 
of  bitterness,  which  will  be  felt  even  at  times  when  orthodoxy 
has  become  popular  and  fashionable — a  quite  possible  circum- 

*  Newton's  Omicron,  Letter  V.  f  Ibid. 


TASTORAL     LIFE.  279 

stance.  There  arc  also  periods  when  this  general  repug- 
nance to  the  gospel,  and  this  mysterious  attraction  to  the 
gospel,  are  vividly  felt  at  the  same  time,  and  when  every  one 
is,  before  he  receives  it,  either  preoccupied  in  its  favor,  or 
exasperated  against  it.  But,  in  general,  the  wisdom  of  the 
preacher  is  guided  and  formed  by  the  apostolic  thought, 
"  With  me  it  is  a  very  small  thing  that  I  should  be  judged 
of  .  .  .  man's  judgment,"  1  Cor.  iv.  3;  and  by  that  other, 
not  less  apostolic,  thought,  ''  the  fruit  of  righteousness  is 
sown  in  peace,"  James  iii.  18 ;  "  if  it  be  possible,  as  much 
as  lieth  in  you,  live  peaceably  with  all  men."    Rom.  xii.  18.* 

*  Chrysostom  has  very  forcibly  reprcsenteJ  the  danger  of  allowing 
ourselves  to  be  prcju'liccd  in  our  ministry,  cither  hy  tlie  desire  of 
approval  or  tlie  fear  of  disapproval. — De  Saccrdotio,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  9; 
and  lib.  v.,  cap.  2,  4,  6,  and  8. 


280  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 


CHAPTER  II. 

CATECHIZATION. 


§  I. — ITS   IMPORTANCE  AND  AIM. 

This  function  is,  among  our  duties,  of  primary  importance. 
Rclit;ious  instruction,  properly  understood,  is  a  perpetual  re- 
newal of  the  basis  of  the  Church,  and  constitutes  the  most 
real  and  precious  part  of  that  tradition  by  which  Christianity 
is  perpetuated  from  age  to  age,  not  only  as  a  doctrine,  but  as 
a  life.  The  importance  of  the  sermon,  properly  so  called,  is 
so  much  the  greater  as  it  is  addressed  to  hearers  prepared  by 
religious  instruction. 

Catechization  is  essential  to  those  who  are  its  immediate 
objects,  useful  to  the  parish,  which  itself  needs  to  be  cate- 
chized, and  is  so  in  fact,  through  its  children,  useful  to  the 
pastor  himself,  because  the  constant  obligation  to  make  reli- 
gion level  to  the  capacity  of  children,  reminds  him  continu- 
ally of  the  simplicity  which  is  essential  to  him,  and  brings 
his  mind  back  to  the  first  and  most  elementary  names  and 
forms  of  things.  In  all  these  respects  it  deserves  our  zeal- 
ous attention,  which,  moreover,  is  demanded  by  the  difficulty 
of  the  duty  itself,  a  difiiculty  which  varies  with  different 
pastors,  but  must  be  great  for  all ;  for,  in  addition  to  all  the 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  281 

conditions  required  for  good  preaching,  this  task  involves 
special  conditions.  The*  pastor  who  can  catechize  well  will 
not  preach  badly. 

It  is  true  that  catechization  has  repelling  qualities  which  do 
not  belong  to  preaching ;  but  it  has  its  peculiar  attractions. 

Still  more  true  is  it  that  catechization  involves  a  formidable 
obstacle  in  the  small  agreement,  or  rather  in  the  contrast,  be- 
tween the  teaching  the  child  receives  from  the  minister  and 
that  which  he,  for  the  most  part,  receives  from  the  world  and. 
from  his  own  family.  But,  so  far  as  this  obstacle  is  not  in- 
surmountable, it  assumes  the  aspect  of  a  motive  for  the 
minister  to  give  the  more  attention  to  this  part  of  pastoral 
duty,  and  it  is  even  a  chief  reason  for  the  institution  itself. 

The  object  of  religious  instruction  is  not  only  to  teach  to 
children  the  religion  that  is  specially  theirs,  (as  if  they 
already  possessed  it,  and  it  were  theirs  prior  to  instruction,) 
but  to  establish  in  them  a  life.* 

Doubtless  it  is  a  form  of  instruction,  taking  the  word  in 
its  ordinary  meaning,  and  in  a  lower  sense  than  that  involved 
in  its  etymological  significance;  but  it  is  much  more  really 
an  initiation  into  the  sacred  mysteries  of  Christian  life. 
"  ]My  little  children,"  says  St.  Paul,  "of  whom  I  travail  in 
birth  again  until  Christ  be  formed  in  you."     Gal.  iv.  19. 

We  must  not  give  the  preference  to  the  most  intelligent 
children,  to  those  whose  replies  are  best,  [but  must  often  re- 
cognize a  superiority  in  spiritual  qualities  in  those  whose  in- 
tellectual powers  are  more  limited.  The  heart's  answers, 
when  they  are  true,  are  worth  more  than  the  most  striking 
indications  of  intelligence.  The  dull  child  which  provokes 
our  asperity,  is,  perhaps,  more  serious  than  the  intelligent 
child  whom  we  are  much  more  disposed  to  caress.] 

*  For  the  development  of  this  idea,  see  the  Course  of  Catechetics. 


2S2  PASTORAL    TIIEOLOQY. 

§    II. — GENERAL    CHARACTERISTICS,  OF    CATECHIZATION. — 
SOURCE  AND  METHOD  OF  RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION. 

Instruction,  as  such,  may  bo  as  solid  and  complete  as  pos- 
sible, but  spontaneity  and  life  must  be  sought;  and,  in  order 
to  attain  these,  the  studies  must  not  be  too  hurried ;  they 
should  not  be  too  laborious,  [for  that  which  too  much  occu- 
pies the  mind  may  possibly  leave  the  heart  still  indolent.] 
There  should  be  nothing  which  can  suggest  too  close  an 
approximation  between  ordinary  studies  and  those  required 
from  the  catechumen,  nothing  which  can  leave  behind  it  an 
unpleasant  recollection.  [Let  the  child  remember  these  les- 
sons during  his  whole  life ;  at  least,  so  far  as  this  depends 
upon  the  preacher.]  Let  these  hours  of  lessons  be  hours  of 
edification ;  let  the  child  feel  that  he  is  exerting  a  healthy 
activity;*  let  religious  instruction  have  the  character  of 
worshi2).'\  Activity  and  worship  are  two  characteristics 
which  mutually  involve  one  another,  but  are  too  often  lost 
sight  of. 

Where  should  the  child  find  his  religion  ?  [Whatever  he 
can  himself  discover,  he  should  discover;  but  this  is  little; 
all  the  rest  is]  in  the  Bible.  The  knowledge  of  the  Bible  is 
that  which  he  requires. |  The  catechism  presupposes  the 
Bible,  of  which  it  should  be  a  summary  and  systematic  digest ; 

*  The  feeling  of  activity  is  produced  by  interrogations  which  elicit 
the  exposition. 

f  See,  on  this  subject,  a  passage  in  Madame  Necker's  Progressive 
Education:  " Religion  will  never  as.sume  its  most  sacred  aspect  to 
young  people,  unless  the  very  teaching  of  it  is  a  mode  of  worship," 
etc.     Book  vi.,  ch.  ii. 

J  See  an  article  on  M.  Morel's  Sacred  History,  in  the  Semcur,  vol. 
ix..  No.  27,  (.July,  1840,)  [and  Appendix,  Note  VIII.,  for  the  portion 
of  that  article  which  refers  to  the  use  of  the  catechism.] — Ed. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  283 

[and  we  may  say,  in  passing,  that]  the  cmployniont  oi'  it  (tftor 
the  ]>iblo,  lias  not  the  same  inconveniences  as  the  employment 
of  it  before  the  Bible.  [To  abolish  it  altoprcther  would  be  a 
fatal  excess,  but  much  less  than  that  of  dispensing  with  the 
Bible.] 

By  their  interlacing  one  with  another,  the  ideas  of  the 
Bible  become  as  living  fibres  in  a  living  body.  Separation 
is  death.  The  mind  may  distinguish  between  facts;  but  in 
life  nothing  is  isolated,  and  all  those  individualizations,  per- 
sonifications, entities  which  figure  in  the  catechism,  are  fic- 
tions. All  are  but  diflTerent  faces,  or  applications  of  one  and 
the  same  truth. 

But  there  arc  difficulties  attaching  to  the  employment  of 
the  Bible  :  [we  must  not  enter  upon  this  path  without  reflect- 
ing;] we  must  organize  a  method,  [and  inquire  how  the  Bible 
is  to  be  read ;  what  in  it  should  be  road ;  where  we  should 
he(jl.n ;  and,  lastly,  we  must  carefully  estimate  the  general 
l)rocedure  which  the  limitations  of  time  may  re({uire.] 

§  III. ADVICE    TO    THE    CATECHIST. 

I(r  would  be  desirable  for  the  pastor  to  begin  with  the 
youngest  children  in  his  parish,  and,  having  them  under  his 
guidance  for  several  successive  years,  to  proceed  with  their 
instruction  at  leisure.  I  can  understand  how,  having  them 
ibr  only  a  short  time  under  his  control,  he  should  be  obliged 
to  use  a  catechism.  But  whether^  he  should  be  obliged  by 
necessity  to  use  it,  (and  especially  under  these  circumstances,) 
or  whether  the  catechism  is  used  after  the  Bible,  the  use  of 
such  a  manual  requires  especial  care.  It  is  difficult  to  make 
a  catechism,  and  there  are  few  good  ones.  Other  things 
being  equal,  T  would  prefer  the  most  elementary — that  which, 
framed  after  a  Christian  model,  should  present  forcibly  all  its 
teachings  under  a  small   nunil)cr  of  principles,  and  should 


2S4  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

present,  under  each  subject,  only  the  most  fundamental  ideas, 
expressed  with  vigor  and  feeling.  I  have  not  yet  met  with 
any  catechism  superior  to  Luther's.  3?y  adding  to  it  a  selec- 
tion of  passages,  every  thing  necessary  for  our  purposes  would 
he  possessed. 

Whatever  be  the  form  of  catechization,  whether  based 
upon  the  Bible  or  some  manual,  that  which  takes  place  in 
public  ought  to  be  calculated  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  class 
of  hearers  for  whom  it  is  specially  designed — I  mean  chil- 
dren. It  is  very  desirable  that  adults  should  attend  and  feel 
interest  in  these  meetings,  but  their  presence  need  not  alter 
the  character  of  our  instructions ;  this  would  be  to  act  un- 
faithfully to  the  children,  and  to  do  injury  rather  than  good 
to  the  adults.  Religion  is  never  more  impressive,  instruction 
is  never  more  truly  profound,  than  when  Christianity  is  re- 
garded from  the  point  of  view  of  childhood  :  thus  to  present 
it  is  the  best  means  of  attracting  adults;  the  best  sermon  is 
less  attractive  than  a  skilfully  managed  catechizing. 

Whether  in  public,  or  with  each  child  apart,  the  matter 
ought  to  be  carefully  prepared  :  we  must  not  say,  I  have  only 
children  to  deal  with ;  for  in  this  respect,  as  in  all  others, 
maxima  deheter  puero  revcrentia  ;*  the  greatest  reverence 
is  due  to  youth.  It  is  undoubtedly  no  easy  matter  to  speak 
well  to  children.  Some  persons  have  the  appropriate  talent 
for  this  work.  [With  children  we  must  be  clear,  striking, 
impulsive ;  but  in  this  case  there  is  a  great  danger  of  trans- 
gressing the  limits  of  decorum.]  On  this  point  I  would 
commend  to  you  the  following  remarkable  confession  by  Ber- 
nard Overberg  :  "  This  morning  again,"  he  says  in  his  jour- 
nal, "  I  went  to  the  school  without  sufficient  preparation. 
Lord,  assist  me  to  improve  in  this  matter  !  It  is  an  illusion 
for  me  to  say,  That  is  enough ;  you  know  your  task  j  here  is 

*  Juvenal,  Satire  xiv.,  v.  47. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  285 

somotliing  to  be  done  more  necessary  than  such  prepnvation  ; 
for  every  thing  which  can  be  adjourned  is  less  important  than 
this  duty  at  this  particuhir  moment.  The  want  of  prepara- 
tion involves  many  disadvantatrcs ;  teaching  is  then  dry,  con- 
fused, irregular,  diffuse ;  the  children  are  embarrassed  and 
linable  to  sustain  their  attention ;  the  lesson  becomes  weari- 
some both  to  them  and  to  me."* 

Preparation  for  catechizing,  even  in  public,  which  is  called 
oratory,  (in  the  German  Predigtcatcchismus,^  does  not  sup- 
pose a  discourse  to  be  written  and  committed  to  memory ; 
still  less  does  preparation  for  the  special  instruction  which  is 
communicated  in  the  pastor's  residence.  Such  occasions 
ought  to  wear  the  aspect  of  a  free  and  familiar  conversation, 
which  can  hardly  belong  to  a  written  discourse.  But  prepa- 
ration ought  not  therefore  to  be  less  careful.  (We  may  say,  in 
general,  that  the  two  forms  of  preparation,  if  they  arc  not 
identical,  supplement  each  other.) 

Gentleness  and  patience  are  primary  qualifications  required 
in  the  catechist;  satire  is  inexcusable;  hardly  less  so  is  it  to 
cause  or  allow  embarrassment  in  the  child  before  the  rest  of 
those  present.  Gentleness  should  be  paternal  but  manly : 
love  for  children  will  infallibly  secure  an  amiable  manner, 
and  will  admirably  supersede  the  necessity  for  an  artificially 
bland  and  languid  style. 

Familiarity,  [doubtless,  ought  not  to  be  absent,  but  it] 
should  be  sedate  and  grave  ;  in  religious  instruction  there  is 
seldom  occasion  for  a  smile,  never  for  a  laugh.  We  must 
interest,  not  amuse.  [Some  teachers  are  in  the  habit  of  in- 
troducing anecdotes  in  their  instructions  ;  but  they  should  be 
})rought  forward  with  moderation,  and  should  be  serious  and 
suitable.] 

■*  Notice  of  Bernard  Overbcrg,  Teacher  iu  the  Munstcr  Normal 
School,  by  J.  II.  Schubert,  Professor  at  Munich. 


286  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

The  physical  comfort  of  children  during  the  hours  of  cate- 
chizing is  a  matter  to  be  taken  into  consideration.  The  exer- 
cise ought  not  to  be  too  prolonged.  Especially  in  exposition, 
judicious  limits  should  not  be  transgressed,  and  the  time 
should  be  relieved  by  interrogation,  [which  is  less  fatiguing 
to  the  child,  because  it  calls  forth  his  own  activity.  We  must 
not  say  all  in  exposition,  but  leave  the  general  ideas  to  be 
illustrated  by  particulars  in  questioning.  The  worst  mode 
of  catechizing  is  when  digressions  are  introduced  which 
cause  the  principal  object  to  pass  out  of  sight,  and  from 
which  it  is  difficult  for  the  children,  and  even  for  the  teacher 
himself,  to  return.  This  is  the  danger  of  the  Socratic  method, 
which,  in  other  respects,  is  excellent,  and  is  too  little  culti- 
vated. In  an  absolutely  Socratic  method,  the  child  too  readily 
persuades  himself  that  he  himself  has  found  all  that  is 
elicited  from  him,  which  is  injurious  to  the  pastor's  author- 
ity, and  excites  the  self-love  of  the  child.  Moreover,  it  is 
impossible  to  foresee  where  such  a  method  will  lead  to — what 
may  be  the  issue  of  some  point  of  detail  which  must  be  ex- 
plained in  answer  to  the  questions  of  a  child.  Long,  circuit- 
ous routes,  are  very  undesirable.] 

The  particular  replies  of  each  child  in  the  course  of  in- 
struction will  not  suffice  for  a  decision  concerning  him ;  each 
child  should,  towards  the  end  of  the  course,  be  separately 
seen  and  examined.  [Those  who  are  best  instructed  may  not 
be  the  best.]  He  should  also  be  seen  that  he  may  be  en- 
abled to  arrive  at  a  true  mode  of  regarding  the  communion 
to  which  he  is  to  be  admitted.  [The  child  should  be  care- 
fully informed  as  to  the  true  nature  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
This  subject,  in  its  practical  point  of  view,  is  one  on  which 
many  prejudices  exist,  which  is  partly  to  be  attributed  to  the 
human  heart.  In  general,  children  are  free  from  these  pre- 
judices, but  they  are  ignorant.  The  child  should  be  taught 
what  it  is  that  he  is  really  about  to  do;]  tlie  confirmation  of 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  287 

his  baptismal  vows  should  be  presented  in  a  true  light  before 
him.  [The  formulary  used  among  us  is  in  many  respects  de- 
fective; it  says  nothing  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  nor  of  the 
grace  of  God  which  is  so  necessary  to  be  brought  to  mind 
when  so  terrible  a  promise  is  formally  solemnized.  This  pro- 
mise ought  rather  to  be  a  declaration.  Our  formulary,  then, 
requires,  at  least,  supplementary  instruction.] 

The  age  at  which,  among  us,  this  confirmation  takes  place, 
[sixteen  years,]  appears  convenient,  so  far  as  regards  the  de- 
sign of  making  the  confirmation  of  baptismal  vows  a  free  and 
intelligent  act.  However,  so  far  as  the  question  of  admis- 
sion or  non-admission  is  concerned,  the  true  qualification  to 
be  regarded  is  a  knowledge  of  the  mysteries  of  piety  propor- 
tionate to  the  capacity  of  each  applicant,  and  more  especially 
an  intelligence  of  the  heart,  the  religious  apprehension  of 
this  mystery.  [For  the  tirst  we  have  a  measure ;  there  is  no 
sure  method  of  recognizing  the  second.  Accordingly,  as  to 
this  latter  point,  unless  we  have  a  decisive  proof  that  the 
child  has  dispositions  directly  contrary  to  Christianity,  he 
should  be  admitted.]  We  have  a  right  to  adjourn  or  refuse 
confirmation ;  but  it  is  unreasonable  to  assume  the  right  of 
preventing  another  pastor  from  administering  it,  if  he  thinks 
he  can  do  what  we  have  refused  to  do.  It  suffices  for  us  to 
have  warned  our  brother,  in  order  to  relieve  ourselves  from 
responsibility.* 

[*  lu  our  churches  no  particular  age  is  specified  at  which  young 
iiersons  should  be  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  Pastor.s  arc  re- 
(juired  to  catechize  the  children  of  their  charge,  and  they  are  ex- 
pected to  admit  them  to  the  Lord's  Supper  as  soon  as  they  develop 
suitable  mental  and  moral  qualitications.  The  Catechisms  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  South,  comprise  every  thing  desiderated  by  Vinet — 
they  consist  of  eight  manuals,  advancing  "from  the  least  to  the 
greatest."— T.  0.  S.] 


288  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 


SECTION   THE    THIRD. 

CARE  OF  SOULS;  OR,  PASTORAL  OVERSIGHT. 


CHAPTER   I. 
ON  THE  CARE  OF  SOULS  IN  GENERAL. 


§  I. — ITS  RELATIONS   TO   PREACHING. — FUNDAMENTAL 
PRINCIPLES    OP   THIS   DUTY. 

We  have  considered  the  office  of  the  preacher  and  that 
of  the  pastor  successively;  but  assuredly  we  do  not  there- 
fore mean  to  assert  that  preaching  is  not  a  pastoral  office, 
and  that  it  is  not  itself  a  form  of  the  care  of  souls.  Nei- 
ther would  we  say  that  the  care  of  souls,  properly  so  called, 
is  distinct  from  preaching,  since  the  instrument  for  the  care 
of  souls  is  the  word,  and,  under  various  forms,  preaching  re- 
appears continually.*  In  one  sense,  we  may  say  that  the 
preacher  is  to  the  pastor  what  a  part  is  to  the  whole ;  but  if 
we  call  these  two  offices  two  distinct  parts  which  by  mutual 

*  See  the  introduction  to  the  course  on  Homiletics  for  general  re- 
marks on  the  word  in  Christianity. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  289 

conjunction  form  a  whole,  \vc  shall  find  differences  as  well  as 
relations  between  them.  The  preacher  teaches,  the  pastor 
educates;  [in  German,  crsichcf  ;'\  the  one  acts  on  the  masses, 
the  other  on  individuals ;  the  one  receives  and  nourishes 
those  who  come,  the  other  seeks  also  those  who  do  not  come; 
we  may  add,  that  the  former  only  occupies  himself  with 
spiritual  interests.  For  the  pastor,  in  the  whole  extent  of 
his  duty,  is  the  benefactor  of  his  people,  and  is  intended  to 
be  a  living  representative  of  Jesus  Christ."*  If  the  present 
state  of  society  leaves  him  less  to  do,  another  state  which 
may  arrive  may  again  invest  him  with  his  former  attributes. 

But,  regarding  only  the  moral  interests  of  the  parish,  he 
is  not  completely  a  pastor,  that  is  to  say,  a  father,  unless  he 
is  a  preacher.  What  is  the  pastoral  spirit,  but  one  of  pater- 
nity and  solicitude  ?  for  this  is  the  spirit  of  God  himself,  as 
the  Bible  reveals  him  to  men.  "As  a  beast  goeth  down  into 
the  valley,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  caused  him  to  rest,"  Isa. 
Ixiii.  14 ;  to  Israel  it  is  promised  that  he  ''  shall  be  borne 
upon  the  sides  and  dandled  upon  the  knees,"  (ch.  Ixvi.  12  ;) 
and  God  himself  promises,  "  I  will  seek  that  which  was  lost, 
and  bring  again  that  which  was  driven  away,  and  will  bind 
up  that  which  was  broken,  and  will  strengthen  that  which 
was  sick."  Kzek.  xxxiv.  16.  If  such  a  kind  of  charity  is 
beneath  us,  might  not  such  condescension  appear  beneath  the 
lofty  exaltation  of  God  ? — if  he  displays  it,  shall  we  shrink 
from  it?  And  if  this  is  the  true  pastoral  spirit,  will  it  not 
feel  confined  within  narrow  limits  if  its  only  function  is 
preaching  ? 

This  spirit  is  expressly  consecrated  by  precepts  and  special 
injunctions.  Thus  God  says  to  his  prophet,  "  I  have  set  thcc 
for  a  tower  and  a  fortress  among  my  people,  that  thou  maycst 
know  and   try  their  way,"  Jer.  vi.  27  j  and  Paul  exhorts 

*  "In  all  their  affliction  he  was  afflicted."    Isa.  Ixiii.  9. 
10 


290  TASTOEAL    THEOLOGY. 

Timothy  to  "  be  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season."  2  Tim. 
iv.  2.  This  spirit  even  belongs  to  all  true  believers  when 
they  are  faithful  to  their  calling.  We  expect  them  to  be  at- 
tentive to  one  another — mutually  to  warn  one  another;  for 
"  the  Christian,"  says  Saint  Cyran,  "  is  only  an  incomplete 
priest,  or  rather,  to  speak  more  accurately,  a  priest  in  the 
commencement  of  his  work ;  and  the  priest  is  a  perfect  and 
accomplished  Christian."*  Moreover,  the  minister  ought  to 
feel  that  mere  preaching  does  not  accomplish  its  own  aim,  in 
the  first  place,  because  he  is  not  alone  the  pastor  of  those 
who  attend  assiduously  on  his  preaching,  and,  in  the  second 
place,  because  even  these  need  to  be  assisted  by  a  more  indi- 
vidual and  intimate  mode  of  influence. f 

The  pastor  may  not  content  himself  with  having  been  to 
his  people  "  as  a  very  lovely  song  of  one  that  hath  a  pleasant 
voice,  and  can  play  well  on  an  instrument,"  Ezek.  xxxiii. 
32 ;  he  will  always  have  to  reproach  himself  for  having 
"  healed  the  hurt  of  the  daughter  of  God's  people  slightly." 
Jer.  vi.  14.  Only  the  care  of  souls  can  truly  realize  and 
prove  the  existence  of  a  flock,  as  such,  and  not  merely  as  an 
audience.  "I  know  my  sheep,  and  am  known  of  mine." 
John  X.  14.  Only  he  is  a  good  shepherd  who  can  speak 
thus.  [This  is  the  ideal,  towards  which  we  must  tend. 
There  is  a  constant  proportion  between  the  attention  given 
to  the  care  of  souls,  and  the  religious  life  of  the  parish.] 

So  essential  is  this  in  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  that  wher- 
ever Christianity  is  revived,  the  care  of  souls  also  regains  its 
importance. 

*  St.  Cyran's  Letter  to  M.  Guillebert,  chap   xvi. 

f  In  the  view  of  Harms,  public  preaching  is  the  least  important 
part  of  the  pastoral  office,  the  part  ivhich  can  be  most  easily  dis- 
pensed with.  Fastoraltheoloffie,  vol.  iii.,  p.  2.  [See  chap,  ii.,  sec.  i. 
of  this  part  of  our  work.] 

[So  Dr.  South :  see  the  Introductory  Essay. — T.  0.  S.] 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  291 

Let  US  add,  tliat  the  small  allurements  which  these  duties 
offer  to  self  love  and  imagination,  enhance  their  beauty  and 
enforce  their  obligation.  The  serious,  severe  (jualitics  of  the 
ministry  arc  here  seen  in  all  their  purity.  Public  speaking 
is  comparatively  easy  and  agreeable :  we  can  only  be  sure  of 
our  vocation  to  the  ministry  when  we  feel  drawn  and  im- 
pelled to  exercise  the  duties  of  the  care  of  souls.  In  these 
times  the  difficulty  of  this  office  is  especially  felt.  It  is  diffi- 
cult because  of  the  large  extent  of  parishes,  and,  more  espe- 
cially, because  it  is  not  so  acceptable  as  it  once  was.  Our 
congregations  know  well  enough  our  duties,  but  they  do  not 
know  their  own ;  nor  do  they  sufficiently  recognize  the  pre- 
cept, '^  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and  submit 
yourselves,"  Heb.  xiii.  17 ;  such  a  precept  has  now  hardly 
any  meaning  to  them ;  or  rather  we  may  say,  that  a  true  flock 
hardly  now  exists. 

This  state  of  things  has  its  inconveniences,  which  we  need 
not  indicate ;  but  it  has  also  its  advantages,  which  are  even 
involved  in  these  same  inconveniences.  It  does  not  abolish 
the  duty ;  it  does,  in  some  sense,  perfect  it.  It  renders 
Cliristian  love  more  than  ever  indispensable  to  the  pastor — 
that  moral  authority  in  wdiicli  love  is  the  principal  element, 
and  the  indispensable  condition — discernment,  assiduity. 

Let  authority  be  exercised  and  enforced  without  doing  vio- 
lence to  a  just  spirit  of  independence ;  this  is  a  problem 
which  can  only  be  resolved  by  the  simplicity  of  charity. 
Even  in  the  time  of  the  apostles,  these  servants  of  Christ 
were  oljliged  to  protest  that  they  had  no  wish  to  be  lords  over 
(iod's  heritage,  and  that  their  only  reason  for  assuming  the 
government  of  souls  was  because  they  would  have  to  give 
account  of  them.  Heb.  xiii.  17.  Distrust  of  pastoral  ascend- 
ency is  natural,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  legitimate.  To  mo 
it  appears  a  happy  circumstance  that  the  pastor  does  not  now 
come  to  his  flock  heralded,  and,  as   it  were,  introduced  l)y  a 


292  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

foreign  authority,  but  protected  only  by  his  name  as  a  pastor, 
and  by  the  sanctity  of  his  enterprise.  So  that  the  less  he  is 
received  under  one  title,  the  better  will  he  be  accepted  under 
the  other. 


§  II. — OBJECTIONS    TO   THE   EXERCISE   OP   THIS   DUTY. 

Certain  objections  or  pretexts  against  the  exercise  of  the 
care  of  souls  have  been  raised,  which  we  must  briefly  pass  in 
review.* 

1.  Abse7ice  of  taste. — This,  however,  is  not  a  question  of 
taste,  but  of  duty ;  it  is  not  a  detail  that  may  belong  to  per- 
fection, but  an  essential  interest  inseparable  from  a  pastoral 
position.  If  taste  for  this  part  of  our  ministry  is  lacking, 
what  kind  of  taste  for  other  parts  have  we  ?  If  we  have  not 
a  vocation  to  attend  to  the  individual  souls  of  our  flock,  we 
have  not  a  vocation  to  the  ministry.  This  objection  is  then 
cither  all-powerful  or  all-feeble ;  all-powerful  because  of  its 
very  feebleness. 

2.  Want  of  time. — What  shall  we  understand  by  this  ? 
That  we  need  only  attend  to  this  duty  when  we  have  nothing 
else  to  do  ?  I  confess  I  would  rather  hear  the  duty  of  the 
care  of  souls  alleged  as  a  reason  for  neglecting  preaching, 
than  the  duty  of  preaching  alleged  as  a  reason  for  neglecting 
the  care  of  souls ;  I  would  rather  hear  the  pastor  say,  The 
sick  and  poor,  the  scattered  sheep  of  my  flock,  occupy  me, 
and  prevent  me  from  giving  to  preaching  all  the  care  that  it 
demands.  The  objection  assumes  what  is  at  least  question- 
able— that  the  care  of  souls  is  of  secondary  importance. 
But  who  has  said  this  ?  how  shall  it  be  proved  ? 

3.  Reception  is  denied. — Possibly.  But  be  careful  not  to 
urge  this  objection  until  the  attempt  has  been  fairly  made. 

*  Harms's  Pastoraltheologie,  vol.  iii.,  p.  19. 


I'ASTOllAL     LIFE.  293 

Do  not  advance  it  after  a  first  and  feeble  effort.  Why  sliould 
you  expect  the  doors  of  your  people's  houses  to  open  spon- 
taneously merely  upon  your  approach  ?  In  general,  we  arc 
too  hasty  in  aifirming  that  a  reception  is  denied.  There  are 
far  more  modes  of  access  than  we  suppose,  because  there  are 
far  more  needs,  accessible  sides,  occasions,  than  we  think. 
Our  ministry,  when  it  comes  under  the  guise  of  Christian 
affection,  is  not  so  sure  of  being  repulsed. 

Upon  the  whole,  it  is  natural  that  a  reception  should  be 
denied.  We  all  know  that  truth  is  not  received  with  eager- 
ness ;  and  the  chief  Shepherd  is  not  certainly  better  received 
by  us  than  we  are  by  others ;  never  will  they  receive  us  worse 
than  we  have  received  God.  And  yet  he  "  came  unto  his 
own."  John  i.  11.  The  servant  is  not  better  than  his  mas- 
ter. Is  not  patience  our  duty?  is  not  this  a  trial  and  exer- 
cise of  our  fliith  ? 

§  HI. — CONDITIONS,  OR   QUALITIES,  REQUIRED  IN  THE  CARE 
OP   SOULS. 

The  conditions  requisite  for  this  work  are : 

1.  Health. — The  details  of  the  care  of  souls  arc  not  neces- 
sarily nor  ordinarily  dangerous  to  health,  (unless  the  parish 
be  too  large, )  yet  a  certain  vigor  and  stability  of  constitution 
ai*e  needed.  In  general,  he  who  can  sustain  the  burden  of 
preaching,  is  physically  qualified  for  the  care  of  souls ;  but 
there  may  be  exceptions,  and  the  minister  ought  to  examine 
himself  well  on  this  point,  when  considering  his  vocation  to 
the  pastorate  ;  he  must  ask  whether  the  one  can  be  given  up 
while  the  vocation  to  the  other  remains. 

2.  A  certain  presence  of  mind,  with  which  ministers  may 
be  variously  endowed,  but  which  may  be  more  or  less  ac- 
quired, and  which  is  very  often  only  a  presence  of  heart,  or 
a  quality  which  this  will  supply. 


294  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

o.  PsT/cliological  experiences. — Many  persons  assign  to  logic 
the  position  of  psychology,  which  is  a  great  evil.  Logic  is 
rectilinear ;  it  passes  through,  it  traverses  moral  facts ;  psy- 
chology is  sinuous  and  flexible.  The  psychology  of  books  is 
very  useful  as  a  basis  for  our  own  researches,  but  is  nothing 
without  experience  and  study  of  our  own  selves.  Self-know- 
ledge is  a  mode  of  knowing  others  accurately,  although  we 
must  be  prepared  to  meet  with  moral  combinations  such  as 
we  have  never  experienced,  and  which  might  have  appeared 
impossible ;  in  this  case  we  must  study  fiicts  as  such,  with 
candor  and  docility. 

4.  Knoioledge  of  the  parish. — The  parish  is  not  an  abstrac- 
tion, but  a  concrete  fact — an  individuality  which  has  no  exact 
counterpart  elsewhere.  It  is  true  that  this  knowledge  im- 
plies a  knowledge  of  mankind  in  general,  since  unless  we 
know  men  generally,  we  cannot  know  them  well  as  existing 
at  a  certain  time  and  place ;  it  is  also  true  that  we  must  seek 
and  bring  to  light  the  general  features  of  humanity  in  the 
men  of  a  certain  time  and  place ;  true  also  that  there  are 
things  which  are  equally  interesting  and  attractive  to  man 
in  the  most  different  conditions,  and  that  these  things  are  of 
the  first  importance.  But  it  is  not  less  true  that  if  we  do  not 
take  into  account  that  which  distinctly  characterizes  our 
flock,  we  are  in  danger,  not  only  of  being  less  useful,  less 
agreeable,  or  less  welcome,  but  also  of  acting  in  many  cases 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  aim  which  we  propose  to  our- 
selves. All  external  circumstances  which  modify  the  form 
of  the  soul's  manifestations,  do,  on  this  very  account,  modify 
the  action  which  we  must  exercise  upon  it.  We  must,  so  to 
speak,  request  from  the  individual  man  an  introduction  to 
the  general  man,  or,  at  least,  we  must  so  act  that  our  path 
may  not  be  barricaded  by  this  individual  man.  St.  Paul 
spoke  to  all  as  men ;  and  yet  to  the  Jew  he  became  a  Jew,  to 
the  Greek  a  Greek;  he  became  all  things   to  all  men.     We 


TASTOUAI/     LIFE.  205 

must  not  strike  keys  which  correspond  to  no  chord,  and  leave 
inactive  those  which  are  in  communication  with  tones  of  the 
i'ullest  and  clearest  quality. 

The  care  of  souls  will  not  then  he  the  same  in  town  as  in 
country;  in  an  agricultural  country,  and  manufacturing  dis- 
tricts; in  the  midst  of  a  people  of  simple  manners,  and 
among  a  refined  and  educated  people.  The  pastor  must  take 
all  these  things  into  consideration,  as  also  all  geographic 
peculiarities — climatic,  economic,  dietetic,  and  historic.  He 
should  know  the  habits,  interests,  wants,  prejudices,  and 
wishes  of  the  people  among  whom  he  is  located.  He  should 
not  limit  himself  to  some  very  obvious  data,  supplied  by  a 
i'ew  inductions,  he  should  wish  to  study  things  as  they  are  in 
themselves.  For  while  general  circumstances  may  be  the 
same,  there  are  points  of  distinction  to  be  observed  between 
two  parishes,  both  in  a  mountainous,  or  both  in  an  agricultural 
district,  both  rich,  or  both  poor.  Especially  ought  the  pastor 
to  know  the  religious  condition  of  the  parish  as  he  receives  it. 
Those  and  all  other  experiences  must  be  the  subject  of  pro- 
longed and  persevering  study,  commencing  with  his  entrance 
upon  his  office;  and,  even  before  coming,  he  should  be  in- 
formed of  every  thing  that  it  is  important  for  him  to  know; 
and  some  details,  apparently  trifling,  are  really  important.  Un- 
less these  things  arc  known  he  will  injure  and  offend,  he  will 
act  injudiciously,  and  create  prejudices  which  are  easily 
formed  and  slowly  subdued.  He  must  know  the  evil  and 
the  good,  the  strong  as  well  as  the  weak  points,  [what  must 
be  developed,  and  what  needs  to  be  repressed.]  From  all 
this  we  may  infer  the  advantage  which  the  pastor  acquires 
by  a  long  residence  in  the  same  place. 

5.  (^(irc  in  preserving  relations  of  conjidencc  and  affcrtion 
with  the  jyarish. — These  are  partly  obtained  by  the  care  of 
sduls  ;  liut,  for  the  sake  of  the  work,  they  should  by  all  means 
be  created  and  preserved.     There  arc  positive  and  neyalive 


296  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

means ;  here  we  shall  not  speak  of  the  first,  which  will  come 
subsequently  under  consideration,  when  we  are  regarding  the 
duties  of  the  pastor  in  this  point  of  view ;  at  present  we  will 
only  speak  of  negative  means,  which  are  :  Avoid  all  unneces- 
sary collisions  with  interest  and  self-love ;  be  ready  to  yield 
your  own  rights,  according  to  the  apostle's  words,  "Why  do 
ye  not  rather  take  wrong  ?"  1  Cor.  vi.  7.  [Doubtless  the 
pastor  should  not  encourage  evil  by  his  own  feebleness,  but 
neither  should  he  show  himself  obstinate  and  unyielding.] 
Be  careful  not  to  contract  obligations  too  readily ;  maintain 
as  independent  a  position  as  possible.  We  may  here  call  to 
mind  the  advantages  of  our  institutions,  in  which  the  pastor 
receives  nothing  from  the  community  as  such ;  and  in  which 
accidental  relations  of  dependence  are  hardly  existent.* 

§  IV. — THREEFOLD  OBJECT  OF  PASTORAL  OVERSIGHT. 

Let  us  now  resolve  the  pastoral  office  into  its  different  ele- 
ments or  spheres  of  action ;  that  is,  let  us  thus  divide  not 
only  the  religious  care  of  families  and  individuals,  but  what- 
ever is  not  included  in  public  teaching  and  the  celebration 
of  religious  woi'ship. 

Pastoral  oversight  has  a  threefold  object,  referring  respect- 
ively to  the  material,  moral,  and  spiritual  interests  of  the 
parish. 

1.  Concern  for  material  interests. — If  I  speak  of  this  first, 
it  is  not  that  I  regard  it  as  primary,  but  rather  because  I 
consider  it  the  smallest  of  the  interests  which  ought  to  en- 
gage the  attention  of  a  pastor,  and  because  I  desire  to  ascend 
by  natural  gradation  to  the  true  object  of  his  ministry  and 
the  worthiest  employment  of  his  activity.  There  are  posi- 
tions into  which  he  will  be  seldom  called,  where  his  inter- 

[*  But  the  advocates  of  the  voluntary  system  believe  them  to  be 
more  than  counterbalanced  by  other  considerations. — T.  0.  S.] 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  297 

forcncc  would  be  improper ;  there  arc  others  into  which  he 
will  almost  be  compelled  to  enter.  In  all  cases  we  would 
liave  him  take  into  consideration  the  material  interests  of 
those  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact,  and,  according  to  the 
demands  of  his  position,  attend  to  them.*  We  do  not  now 
allude  to  relief  aiforded  to  the  poor,  which  is  always  expected 
of  the  pastor.  Let  him  in  all  cases  avoid  the  character  of  au 
intrusive  busybody  and  innovator — the  air  of  a  merely  social 
reformer. 

2.  Concern  for  moral  mtcre^ta. — These  may  be  considered 
as  distinct  from  spiritual  interests.  There  are  unjust  or  im- 
moral prejudices,  errors  of  education,  violations  of  law  and 
morality  which  are  winked  at  by  custom,  unbecoming  and 
pernicious  practices,  etc.  All  evils  of  this  kind  must  be  dis- 
persed by  Christianity.  It  will  not,  however,  be  sufficient  to 
preach  the  cross  in  order  to  destroy  this,  although  it  may  be 
done  most  unweariedly,  and  with  this  very  aim,  as  the  highest 
which  the  preacher  can  aspire  to.  In  order  to  cope  with 
these  evils,  we  must  descend  to  the  level  of  natural  morality, 
common  sense,  and  even  interest.  Often,  and  with  many 
])ersons,  this  is  the  only  avenue  to,  the  sole  condition  of 
success.  This  need  not  compromise  higher  aims;  it  will 
bring  us  into  contact  with  a  larger  number  of  individuals, 
and  enable  us  to  influence  a  larger  number  of  wills. 

Christianity  docs  truly  extend  its  application  to  all  things; 
it  so  subdivides  and  distributes  itself  as  to  reach  all  abuses 
and  all  errors.  Its  great  principles  can  be  successfully  sum- 
moned to  confute  the  minutest  forms  of  error  and  of  sin  ;  nor 
is  the  objection  applicable  that  this  is  to  use  Niagara  to  turn 
the  wheel  of  a  mill.  It  is  even  a  matter  of  regret  that  Chris- 
tian preaching  does  not  oftener  conduct  Christians,  as  down  a 

*  Cases  of  waste  land  cuhivated  by  monks;  priests  who  have  in- 
troduced civilization. 


298  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

gentle  declivity,  from  the  loftiest  principles  to  their  last  re- 
sults. But  before  individuals  can  thus  apply  Christianity  to 
their  personal  conduct,  before  they  can  introduce  it  into  the 
external  and  material  details  of  their  life,  they  must  have  re- 
ceived it ;  and  while  we  are  waiting  for  this  consummation, 
society  languishes  and  decays.  The  time  presses ;  let  us  then 
assail  evil  with  every  weapon  that  we  can  grasp ;  let  us,  by 
Christian  love,  and  in  the  exercise  of  a  Christian  spirit,  apply 
to  society  the  forces  which  are  available  for  all,  the  motives 
by  which  all  are  influenced,  and  which  indeed,  being  legiti- 
mate and  true,  are  really  a  part  of  truth.  Let  us  never  forget 
that  the  good  and  right  has  still  its  reasons  in  itself,  while 
evil  carries  with  it  its  own  condemnation ;  that  Christianity 
was  not  sent  that  it  might  create  morality,  but  in  order  to 
afford  to  it  the  most  irresistible  motives,  without  casting  any 
discredit  on,  without  charging  with  any  absolute  inefficacy, 
those  which  arc  derived  from  conscience  and  the  nature  of 
things.  It  is  true  that  motives  of  this  order  cannot  work 
any  inner  renewal — a  moral  resurrection  for  man ;  they  do 
less  than  this,  but  this  less  has  its  value,  and  is  assuredly 
worth  more  than  that  nonentity  to  which  we  should  reduce 
our  activity,  so  far  as  most  men  are  concerned,  did  we  refuse 
to  present  before  them  these  motives. 

It  is  neither  possible  nor  proper  to  attack  openly  every 
abuse  which  may  come  under  our  notice.  Besides  that  much 
time  would  be  required  in  order  to  learn  thoroughly  all  these 
forms  of  evil,  such  an  indiscreet  impatience  would  disgust 
and  repel  those  whom  we  should  reprove.  It  will  be  better 
to  train  and  tutor  some  aids  and  auxiliaries,  even  in  the  same 
parish,  who,  when  their  consciousness  of  evil  becomes  similar 
to  our  own,  will,  with  us,  commence  an  assault  upon  it,  or 
even  take  our  place.'''     There  is  an  excellent  and  Christian 

*  Hiiffell,  Ucber  das  Wesen  und  den  Beruf  des  evangelisch-christlichen 
GeistUchm.     Third  editibn,  Gicssen,  1835,  vol.  ii.,  p.  270. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  299 

policy  by  which  the  pastor  may  himself  omit  many  things, 
which  arc  doiio  by  others  who  have  received  from  him  the 
inspiration  and  instruction  which  can  fit  them  for  the  work. 
Not  only  does  he  require  assistance  in  his  parish,  but  he  will 
do  so  much  the  more  good,  as  he  does  not  personally  attend 
to  every  thing. 

3.  Concern  for  spiritual  intei'ests. — We  speak  of  this  class 
of  interests  according  to  an  order  which  will  enable  us  to 
embrace  the  complete  circle  of  interests  that  claim  pastoral 
solicitude ;  for  otherwise,  this  last  includes  and  governs  all 
the  rest.  It  ought  to  be  the  soul  of  our  every  movement, 
the  principle  of  our  every  activity.  The  spiritual,  that  is  to 
say,  the  eternal  welfare  of  the  members  of  our  parish,  is  that 
which  especially  demands  our  consideration ;  and  if  a  minister 
who  is  profoundly  occupied  with  this  order  of  interests  may, 
to  a  certain  extent,  lose  sight  of  other  orders,  not  the  less 
certain  is  it  that  a  pastor  who  is  not  such,  in  this  the  most 
elevated  sense  of  the  term,  will  not  ordinarily  be  a  man 
adapted  to  promote  the  purely  moral  and  even  the  material 
welfare  of  the  community. 

§  V. THE    SCHOOL. 

As  yet  wc  have  only  considered  the  parish  as  a  whole ;  we 
may  now  advance  towards  families  and  individuals.  But  be- 
tween the  parish  as  a  whole,  and  families  or  individuals,  there 
is  an  intermediate  institution  of  which  we  must  speak — the 
school. 

There  will  be  great  danger  of  its  being  secularized.  The 
school  should  remain  attached  to  the  church  or  to  religion. 
I  am  now  speaking  of  the  popular  school,  in  which  the  pupils 
will  learn  more  or  less,  but  will  always,  if  the  school  deserves 
its  name,  learn  that  which  is  required  for  the  man  and  the 
Christian.     The  school  needs  religion,  and  religion  needs  the 


300  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

school ;  neitlier  is  there  a  church  without  a  school,  nor  a 
school  without  a  church.  For  this  reason  the  pastor  must 
interest  himself  in  every  thing  that  enters  essentially  into 
popular  instruction,  but  he  should  always  add  thereto,  or 
rather  interweave  therewith,  religious  thought.  Never  can 
he  forget  that  he  is  a  minister  of  religion,  never  can  he  over- 
look this  feature  in  his  position  when  he  is  superintending 
the  government  of  a  school.  This  does  not  imply  any  exclu- 
sive preoccupation  for  one  point  of  view;  nor  that  the  min- 
ister does  not,  as  well  as  any  other  man,  concern  himself  with 
the  complete  circle  of  interests  that  enter  into  the  great  work 
of  popular  education. 

I  do  not  mean  that  the  pastor  should  supersede  the  school- 
master in  the  work  of  religious  instruction,  but  should  guide 
him  in  his  instructions,  should  aid,  but  not  cashier  him. 

As  a  member  or  president  of  the  school  commissioners,  the 
minister  will  use  whatever  influence  he  may  have,  but  will 
not  seek  to  domineer,  or  to  act  entirely  alone ;  he  will  regard 
it  as  more  appropriate  and  useful  that  others  also  should  learn 
to  act  well,  and,  in  certain  cases,  that  he  himself  should  learn 
from  them.  If  circumstances,  or  his  own  relative  superiority, 
give  him  the  ascendency,  he  will  be  ready  to  condescend  or 
to  defer  to  others;  he  will  not  make  his  colleagues  mere  in- 
struments or  agents  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes, 
but  will  strive  to  make  them  cooperate  with  him. 

This  advice  is  equally  applicable  to  all  the  institutions  and 
labors  in  which  the  pastor  may  be  called  to  take  a  principal 
part. 

We  may  now  advance  to  the  relations  which  the  pastor  sus- 
tains to  families  and  individuals. 

§  VI. — RELATIONS    WITH   FAMILIES. PASTORAL   VISITS. 

I  have  spoken  of  families  because  the  minister  generally 
reaches  individuals  (qf  whom  more  hereafter)  through  farai- 


PASTOllAL     LIFE.  oOl 

lies,  and  because  it  is  important  that  he  should  be  connected 
with  families  as  such.  The  family,  which  is  the  only  group 
which  remains  permanently  in  society  under  the  national 
group — the  lamily,  which  is  a  natural  bond,  perhaps  not  pre- 
served with  a  sufficiently  close  tenacity,  yet  not  entirely  dis- 
solved— is  for  the  minister  a  fact  of  unspeakable  value,  since 
by  it  a  number  of  individuals  can  be  at  once  and  easily 
reached,  so  indirectly  that  they  do  not  fear  lest  their  liberty 
should  be  compromised,  so  directly  that  they  can  be  very 
strongly  and  closely  influenced.  I  would  further  observe, 
that  the  minister  ought  to  act  upon  families  in  order  that  he 
may  recognize,  consecrate,  and  strengthen  whatever  is  divine 
in  the  institution  itself. 

However,  our  aim  must  be  to  reach  individuals,  since  the 
presence  or  absence  of  Christian  character  is  a  matter  of  in- 
dividual concern,  resting  with  those  who  have  or  have  not 
received  the  truth.  We  will  not  then  consider  relations  with 
families  at  greater  length ;  but  before  we  begin  to  consider 
individual  relations,  which  will  occupy  us  during  the  remain- 
der of  this  part  of  our  course,  we  must  say  something  of  an 
important  duty  which  relates  both  to  families  and  to  indivi- 
duals, and  is  a  powerful  means  of  reaching  both — I  mean 
j^astoral  visitations. 

Pastoral  visits  are  neither  of  a  purely  social  character, 
such  as  persons  in  a  respectable  position  pay  to  one  another, 
for  pleasure  or  for  compliment ;  nor  are  they  purely  official — 
so-called  domiciliary  visits,  which  have  somewhat  of  an  in- 
quisitorial character.  They  ought  to  be  pastoral,  avowedly 
so,  but  familiar  and  kindly.  The  pastor,  when  he  is  recog- 
nized as  such,  should  be  felt  to  be  a  friend  and  a  father. 

All  that  is  obtrusive  should  be  avoided  in  these  visits; 
those  who  receive  them  should  be  made  to  feel  perfectly  at 
caiiC ;  all  ideas  of  ceremony  and  mere  worldly  politeucsfl 
should  be  excluded. 


302  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

Tissot  has  very  forcibly  shown  wliat  pastoral  visits  ought 
to  be  in  the  country,  and  how  a  true  pastor  will  know  how 
to  relieve  them  of  all  that  is  wearisome,  and  secure  their 
legitimate  results  : 

"  What  a  fatal  influence  will  effeminacy  exert  upon  the 
man  who  is  a  Church  ruler  I  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
the  welfare  of  the  precious  deposit  that  is  intrusted  to  him, 
does  not  depend  either  upon  his  learning  or  his  eloquence, 
but  upon  his  vigilance  and  activity.  He  does  not  enlighten 
the  people  by  his  care  in  beautifying  his  sermons  in  the  re- 
tirement of  his  study ;  the  discourses  which  he  delivers  in 
the  temple  are  not  the  most  effective  sermons  which  he 
preaches.  When  the  people  only  hear  sacred  truths,  only  see 
the  man  who  is  charged  to  announce  them  in  the  sanctuary, 
they  do  not  admit  these  truths  to  the  home  of  their  spirit— 
they  only  pay  them  a  visit  of  ceremony  on  the  Sabbath.  Men 
who  are  consecrated  to  a  holy  calling ! — if  you  desire  to  in- 
culcate such  truths  as  may  serve  as  a  guide  to  that  conduct 
which  will  one  day  rise  up  in  witness  either  for  or  against 
you,  the  time  when  you  can  most  advantageously  impress 
them  upon  your  hearer  is  when  he  is  in  the  midst  of  his 
fields,  when  he  is  repairing  his  broken  hedges,  when  he  is 
resting  at  the  door  of  his  storehouse,  when  the  severity  of 
the  weather  keeps  him  at  home,  or  when  some  event  of  in- 
terest and  importance  takes  place  in  his  family. 

"  Would  you  instruct  him  ?  Connect  the  truth,  the  duties 
which  it  involves,  all  your  ideas  of  it,  with  his  daily  toils ; 
let  the  harvest  which  he  reaps  recall  to  his  mind  the  conver- 
sation which  you  had  with  him  while  he  was  sowing  the  seed; 
while  he  is  mowing  his  second  crop,  let  his  occupation  sug- 
gest the  ideas  which  you  presented  before  him  while  he  was 
gathering,  in  the  first :  in  a  word,  let  him  find  you  everywhere, 
and  let  him  delight  thus  to  meet  with  you.  But  how  shall 
this  be  if  you  do  not  venture  to  go  anywhere  ?     How  shall 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  303 

you  induce  him  to  be  attached  to  his  duties,  while  you  appear 
so  little  concerned  to  make  him  interested  in  them  '{  Will  he 
not  shrink  from  his  yoke — and  this  shrinking  is  a  pestilential 
atmosphere  for  virtue — when  he  sees  that  you  arc  indisposed 
to  touch  it?  Will  he  not  hate  his  condition  when  those 
whom  he  regards  as  happy  are  careful  to  stand  aloof  from 
it?"* 

Visits  such  as  these  have  many  advantages.  They  enable 
the  pastor  to  gain  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  moral  and 
material  necessities  of  the  families  in  his  parish.  They  con- 
firm and  establish  amicable  relations.  They  present  oppor- 
tunities for  influencing  individuals. 

Shall  we,  before  we  make  such  visits,  wait  for  some  special 
occasion  ?  It  is  well  to  make  them  when  no  particular  oc- 
casion has  suggested  them,  without  any  immediately  impelling 
motive,  in  order  that,  when  a  special  circumstance  renders 
them  peculiarly  necessary,  they  may  not  have  a  strange  and 
formidable  character.  It  is  well,  however,  also  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  those  events  which  move  the  spii'it  and  dispose 
the  heart  to  open  to  the  words  of  truth — the  moUisuma  tnn- 
jwra/andi'f — without  any  unreality  in  the  mode  of  so  doing. 
]}e  jealously  cautious  to  avoid  j>>-fc/'as/i?iaif/'r>?!,  or  the  habit 
of  delaying.  How  often  have  pastors,  how  often  have  Chris- 
tians in  general,  lamented  their  successive  delays,  which  have 
allowed  destinies  which,  for  a  time  at  least,  they  would  have 
been  able  to  control  and  direct,  to  become  irrevocably  fixed ! 

All  the  parishioners  ought,  as  far  as  possible,  to  be  visited 
by  the  pastor ;  all,  at  least,  ought  to  be  accosted  with  friendly 
greetings,  both  the  friends  of  our  ministry  and  its  advcr.saries, 
[whom,  however,  we  ought  not  to  recognize  as  such  till  they 
have  given  us  convincing  proofs  and  manifestations  of  their 

*  Essay  on  the  Life  of  Tissot,  by  Ch.  Eynard.  Lausanne,  1839, 
Y>.  ion. 

f  Virgil.     ^Encid,  Lib.  iv.,  v.  293. 


oOi  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

hostility,]  rich  as  well  as  poor.  If  tlie  pastor  sees  only  the 
rich,  we  may  fearlessly  assert,  without  looking  more  closely 
into  facts,  that  his  visits  are  not  pastoral,  but  social;  if  he 
sees  only  the  poor,  it  would  not  be  right  to  say,  what  is  so 
often  asserted,  that  only  the  poor  have  a  pastoi' ;  for  is  he  a 
true  pastor  who  can  only  be  such  to  the  poor,  that  is  to  say, 
to  those  whose  poverty  obliges  them  to  accept  pastoral  atten- 
tions whether  they  desire  them  or  not  ? 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  305 


C  PI  AFTER   II. 
THE  CARE  OF  SOULS  APPLIED  TO  INDIVIDUALS. 


§  I. — INTRODUCTION. — DIVISION    OP    THE    SUBJECT. 

Only  absolute  impossibility  can  excuse  the  pastor  from  an 
immcJiate  attention  to  individuals.  If  he  should  have  the 
leisure  to  penetrate  thoroughly  into  all  the  necessities  of  each 
individual,  and  to  be  his  pastor  as  diligently  as  he  is  the  pas- 
tor of  the  whole  flock,  this  would  be  his  duty.  But  even 
when  each  individual  may  be  separately  addressed,  and  guided 
at  leisure,  yet  preaching  to  the  collected  flock  will  be  neces- 
sary. For  this  we  have  given  reasons  in  the  introduction  to 
the  course  of  ITomilctics.  Even  in  this  case,  however,  public 
preaching  would  still  be  of  secondary  importance  ;  the  teach- 
ing of  individuals  would  occupy  the  first  place.  The  pastor 
must,  therefore,  as  far  as  possible,  address  himself  to  indi- 
viduals. 

This  concern  for  individuals  is  one  of  the  most  prominent 
characteristics  of  the  New  Covenant  and  the  new  ministry. 
And  it  is  very  remarkable  that  the  religion  which  has  founded 
a  Church,  and  has  given  to  this  institution  a  reality  that  is 
almost  equivalent  to  personality,  is  the  same  which  has  con- 
secrated and  settled  beyond  all  controversy  and  attack  the 
individuality  of  religious  life;  the  same  which  regards  only 
individual  efl'ects,  or,  at  least,  makes  these  the  principal  aim 


306  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

of  its  endeavors.  The  gospel  is  addressed,  the  preacher  is 
sent,  not  to  peoples  and  masses,  but  to  all  the  individuals  of 
vi^hom  the  peoples  and  masses  are  composed.  If  preachers 
seek  to  act  upon  masses,  it  is  with  a  view  to  the  individuals 
belonging  to  them ;  which  implies,  not  that  one  solitary  indi- 
vidual is  worth  more  than  a  thousand  collected  individuals, 
which  is  absurd,  but  is  worth  more  than  a  people  as  such,  a 
mass  as  such.  The  pastor  then  looks  to  individuals ;  less 
directly  in  preaching,  more  immediately  in  the  care  of  souls, 
which  has  no  longer  any  object  or  reason  when  the  indi- 
vidual loses  his  reality,  or  only  his  importance.  The  minister 
only  seeks  individuals  through  public  worship,  because  he  is 
not  sure  of  finding  them  by  any  other  means ;  because  there 
are  things  which  can  only  be  said  to  individuals  as  they  are 
collected  together ;  and,  lastly,  because  the  public  assembly 
typifies  the  equality,  the  community  of  human  spiritual  inte- 
rests— the  communion  of  souls.  But,  so  far  as  he  can  hope 
to  find  them  elsewhere,  he  must  seek  th(!m  there.  This  is 
his  first  duty,  the  first  form  of  the  pastoral  ministry ;  of 
this,  public  teaching  is  only  the  supplement.  The  friend 
who,  having  the  opportunity  of  enjoying  a  free  conversation 
apart  with  his  friend,  should  be  content  with  seeing  him  only 
in  the  midst  of  a  large  company,  and  who,  having  some  par- 
ticular communication  to  make,  which  concerns  him  alone, 
should  fuse  down  into  general  discourse  that  which  is  spe- 
cially applicable  to  him,  would  be  indeed  a  strange  friend. 
Now,  every  one  needs  a  kind  of  instruction  which  is  suited 
to  him  alone,  or,  at  least,  he  needs  that  that  general  instruc- 
tion which  may  be  presented  before  him  among  others,  but 
which  is  often  lost  to  him  for  want  of  special  application, 
should  be  adjusted  to  his  peculiar  habits  and  circumstances. 
At  different  times  he  passes  through  different  states  of  mind, 
for  which  general  preaching  is  not  quite  suited.  The  pastor 
knows  this ;  and  if  he  can  influence  this  soul  separately,  how 


TASTORAL    LIFE.  307 

shall  he  forbear  to  do  so  ?  Will  he  not  recognize  the  i'act 
that  preaching  may  prepare  the  way,  may  also  complete  a 
work  which  has  been  commenced  in  this  soul,  but  that  the 
critical  moment,  either  of  life  or  of  each  special  event,  de- 
mands a  more  minute  and  delicate  attention  't  And  lastly, 
how  will  the  parish  regard  a  pastor  who  is  only  such  in  the 
pulpit — who,  in  a  sense,  never  descends  from  it — and  who, 
having  the  opportunity  of  knowing  individuals,  desires  only 
to  know  the  mass  ?  As  much  as  pastoral  zeal  in  the  care  of 
souls  adds  force  to  preaching,  so  much  does  the  negligence 
of  the  pastor  enfeeble  his  pulpit  labors. 

AVe  have  indicated  some  natural,  and,  so  to  speak,  lawful 
occasions  for  approaching  individuals;  there  are  also  other 
opportunities  which  will  be  suggested  by  charity,  and  chosen 
by  prudence.  They  will  not  be  wanting  when  they  are  de- 
sired. We  would  not  counsel  any  obnoxious  importunity ; 
but  it  is  important  that  the  pastor  should  assure  himself  that 
the  solicitude  which  induces  him  to  seek  for  opportunities,  is 
seldom  regarded  with  disgust,  when  it  is  characterized  by 
frankness  and  simplicity. 

Let  us  now  distinguish  between  individuals. 

Individuals  differ  among  themselves  externally  in  their 
circumstances,  internally  in  their  state  of  mind  and  heart. 
Let  us  first  attend  to  circumstances  which  affect  the  internal 
state. 

§  II. — INTERNAL    STATE. 

The  same  tendencies  exist  at  all  periods,  and  we  may  say 
that  the  smallest  congregation  presents  all  the  principal  shades 
of  (ruth  and  error.  But  the  proportion  varies,  and  each 
epoch,  each  country  has  its  character,  which  results  from  the 
predominance  of  certain  elements.  Everywhere  else  there  is 
cither  excess  or  defect.     Mysticism,  antinomianism,  legalism, 


308  TASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

blind  devotion  to  the  letter,  (literalism,)  reiga  in  their  seve- 
ral turns. 

Whatever  may  be  the  case  in  respect  to  these  forms  of  life 
or  error,  there  are,  in  regard  to  internal  state,  diiFerent  classes 
■which  exist,  more  or  less  numerously,  in  each  flock. 

1.  The  first  class  is  that  of  pcrso7is  decidedly  piuus,  and 
more  or  less  advanced  in  the  way  of  truth.  We  would  not 
advise  that  these  should  be  left  to  themselves,  and  that  coun- 
sel and  direction  should  be  refused  to  them ;  but  we  will 
suggest  that  they  should  not  be  withdrawn  from  that  disci- 
pline which  is  sent  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  It  is  important 
that  they  should  be  enabled  to  feel  the  reality  of  their  liberty, 
their  responsibilities,  and  the  agencies  for  good  that  are  spe- 
cially theirs.  The  pastor  ought  to  fear  lest  he  should  assume 
the  position  of  a  pope,  or  only  of  a  director  of  consciences. 
He  ought  to  be  a  promoter  of  liberty,  and  not  a  substitute 
for  it. 

These  individuals  who  form  the  selected  portion  of  the 
flock,  will  naturally  feel  a  want  of  more  intimate  relationships 
with  the  pastor,  and  more  searching  and  minute  instruction 
from  him.  Because  they  know  more,  it  seems  they  have 
more  to  learn.  It  would  be  unjust  entirely  to  overlook  these 
circumstances ;  and  the  pastor  who  is  isolated  in  his  parish 
has  as  much  need  of  these  individuals  as  they  have  of  him. 
But  he  cannot  always,  in  this  respect,  completely  satisfy 
either  them  or  himself.  On  the  one  hand,  the  pastor  is  the 
pastor  of  the  whole  flock,  and  ought,  according  to  St.  Paul's 
precept,  to  "take  heed  to  .  .  .  all  the  flock."  Acts  xx.  28. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  ought — in  order  to  serve  the  interests 
of  peace  and  preserve  the  unity  of  the  flock — to  be  willing  to 
deprive  himself  and  them  of  some  lawful  religious  pleasures. 
Only  after  much  reflection,  and  with  many  precautions,  may 
he  establish  an  extra-oflicial  worship.  In  certain  parishes  the 
means  of  communication  which  are  ofi'ered  by  pastoral  visits 


PASTORAL    lilFE.  309 

ouii^lit  to  bo  preferred.  His  arrangements  for  the  nuiltitude 
must  not,  liowever,  wear  the  appearance  of  timidity  and 
undue  ret:;ard  for  liunian  opinion ;  nor  must  the  pastor  dis- 
guise his  sympathy  for  tliose  who  servo  God  with  the  greatest 
zeal.* 

All  who  arc  pious  arc  not  so  in  the  same  manner;  there  is 
almost  always  one  ruling  element,  and  some  other  is  kept  in 
abeyance.  Always  there  is  some  feeble  side  to  be  fortified, 
which  we  should  know  how  to  recognize. 

(1.)  To  those  in  whom  the  principle  o^  faith  predominates, 
vorks  must  be  recommended;  enforcing  the  truth,  that 
amidst  all  the  changes  of  disposition  and  state  towards  God, 
the  law  remains  such,  and  that  we  may  never  renounce  by 
our  works  (Titus  i.  16)  the  God  whom  we  profess  to  know, 
and  whom  we  do  in  reality  know.  We  must  arm  them  against 
the  snares  which  the  natural  man  may  find  in  Christian  lib- 
erty :  without  asking  them  to  renounce  it,  we  must  yet  coun- 
sel them  to  use  it  with  prudence,  and  especially  not  to  lead 
astray  those  Christians  who  arc  less  advanced  or  more  feeble 
in  the  faith,  (Kom.  xv.  12,)  who  dare  not  take  full  advan- 
tage of  their  liberty,  but  who  must  not,  on  this  account,  be 
hastily  regarded  as  strangers  to  the  influence  of  Divine 
grace. 

(2.)  Those  who,  desirous  of  adding  to  their  faith  virtue, 
arc  in  danger  of  forgetting,  in  this  so  necessary  an  application 
of  their  graces,  that  faith  is  the  first  act  of  obedience,  and 
that  the  work  j!>rrr  excellence,  "the  work  of  God,"  (John  vi.  29,) 
is  to  believe  on  him  whom  he  hath  sent — such  persons  must 
be  reminded  of  the  abyss  of  self-righteousness  which  is 
yawning  by  their  side,  in  which  true  righteousitess  perishes 
and  disappears. 

*  .See  llcrrnhut's  Praktischc  Bcmcrhungcn,  p.  103.  Gcmcinschaft 
der  Eru-crklrn. 


310  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

(3.)  To  the  scrujndous,  tlie  timoroics,  we  must  show  that 
"  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteous- 
ness and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,"  (Rom.  xiv.  17,) 
and  that,  if  it  is  necessary  continually  to  prove  ''what  is 
acceptable  to  God,"  (Eph.  v.  19;)  this  useful  exercise  of  reason 
and  conscience  need  not  be  connected  with  anxiety,  but 
ought  to  be  associated  with  a  tranquil  confidence  in  that  God 
who,  having  given  to  us  the  light  of  truth,  will  certainly  not 
permit  a  sincere  and  upright  intention  to  go  very  seriously 
astray. 

(4.)  The  superstitious,  that  is  to  say,  those  who,  by  reason 
of  a  feeble  imagination,  or  some  sort  of  spiritual  indolence, 
prefer  to  consult  some  exterior  indication  in  order  to  learn 
the  will  of  God,  rather  than  listen  to  conscience,  which  is  the 
internal  guide,  must  be  instructed  that  the  light  of  faith  is 
not  intended  to  lead  to  a  renunciation  of  those  natural  means 
of  learning  and  of  judging  which  we  possess,  but  to  induce 
us  to  make  a  good  use  of  them ;  and  that  to  act  otherwise  is, 
under  an  illusory  show  of  piety,  to  leave  to  chance,  or  rather 
to  the  passion  which  defies  all  chances,  the  business  of  deter- 
mining the  course  of  action  to  be  adopted. 

In  fine,  the  work  of  the  minister,  so  far  as  those  pious 
souls  are  concerned  whose  various  errors  are  really  the  ex- 
aggeration of  some  principles  of  truth,  is  to  restore  equili- 
brium, by  inculcating  upon  them  the  particular  principles 
which,  either  in  theory  or  in  practice,  they  have  lost  sight 
of.  Certain  doctrines,  certain  points  of  view  which,  ordi- 
narily, can  find  but  little  place  in  preaching,  resume  their 
just  importance  in  the  details  of  the  care  of  souls;  and  we 
may  say  thaif,  in  this  sphere,  no  article  of  a  truly  Christian 
theology  will  be  suifered  to  remain  inoperative.  It  is  with 
every  individual  form  of  Christianity  as  it  is  with  the  forms 
of  government  among  men :  each  of  them  corresponds,  at 
first,  to  the  general  idea  of  society — afterwards,  they  answer 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  811 

more  specially  to  some  one  of  the  conditions  of  social  life ; 
in  other  words,  each  one  has  borrowed  its  form  from  some 
one  principle,  but  each  also  tends  to  exaggerate  the  principle 
on  which  it  is  founded,  as  if  that  were  the  social  principle 
itself.  Pure  Christianity,  which  has  been  to  some  extent  ex- 
hibited, while  a  pure  state  of  society  never  has,  has  a  prin- 
ciple which  cannot  be  exaggerated,  seeing  that  it  is  the  root 
of  all  other  principles,  that  is  to  say,  of  all  the  mutually  cor- 
relative aspects  of  truth.  But  no  individual  fully  possesses 
this  breadth  and  harmoniousness  of  life;  every  individual 
form  of  Christianity  adopts  a  principle  and  continually  tends 
to  exaggerate  it,  instead  of  tempering  it  by  the  opposite 
principle.  This  attempered  and  complete  view  is  that  which 
wo  must  seek  to  present  to  each  soul,  either  by  bringing  be- 
fore it  the  harmonious  and  perfected  exhibition  of  Christi- 
anity, or  by  admonishing  it  of  that  truth  which  it  has  forgot- 
ten, or  which  it  has  omitted  to  apply. 

In  some  souls  the  work  of  grace  has  proceeded  unknown 
to  all  beside,  perhaps  unknown  to  the  individual  himself. 
These  souls,  whom  God  has  endowed  with  a  beautiful  and 
)irecious  quality  of  docility,  are  as  easily  moulded  as  water  is 
to  the  shape  of  the  vessel  into  which  it  is  put.  They  are 
not  born  Christian,  but  they  become  so  with  such  a  slight 
amount  of  effort,  that  they  seem  to  owe  to  the  generous  duc- 
tility of  their  nature  that  which  others  obtain  only  as  the 
result  of  laborious  conflicts  or  prolonged  reflection.  So  that 
while  some  may  say,  "  With  a  great  sum  obtained  I  this  free- 
dom," they  can,  in  a  certain  sense,  reply,  "But  I  was  born 
I'ree."  Acts  xxii.  28.  Sometimes  these  souls  reveal  them- 
selves by  striking  events  at  the  solemn  hour  of  death,  but  no 
one  has  observed  them  during  their  life;  and  if  any  one 
should  have  questioned  them,  he  would  have  obtained  from 
tlu  111  a  very  incoherent  account  of  their  faith.  Possibly,  also, 
the   imperJ'ci'tion   of  their  theory  has  made  itself  felt,  to  a, 


312  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

certain  degree,  in  their  practice,  and  they  have  not  cried, 
"  Lord,  Lord,"  either  so  frequently  or  so  importunately  as 
others.  Their  faith  has  remained  in  a  latent  condition,  unre- 
flective,  unanalyzed ;  they  have  thought  little  of  their  religion, 
because  their  nature  would  not  allow  them  to  think  much  of 
any  thing.  We  may  say  that  they  have  surrendered  their 
arms  of  hostility,  because,  in  truth,  they  have  never  resisted. 
But  they  have,  by  gradual  degrees,  assimilated  the  spirit  of 
Christianity ;  it  has  entered  into  the  habits  of  their  life ;  they 
feel  all  that  others  think,  and  all  that  others,  who  are  more 
highly  favored,  both  think  and  feel ;  they  inwardly  renounce 
all  self-righteousness ;  with  their  whole  hearts  do  they  em- 
brace the  mystery  of  mercy ;  their  conscience  has  become 
delicate ;  without  any  fixed  method,  they  yet  exercise  on 
themselves  a  severe  discipline  ;  they  know  nothing,  and  yet 
they  know  all  things.  Learn  to  detect  these  souls,  which  are 
perhaps  more  numerous  than  you  think  j  learn  to  encourage 
and  develop  them ;  do  not  urge  them  in  another  direc- 
tion than  that  which  is  naturally  prescribed  to  them ;  do 
not  force  these  instruments  to  give  forth  sounds  which  are 
inappropriate  to  them;  do  not  distress  them  by  rigid  rules; 
do  not  deprive  them  of  their  naturalness ;  accept  of  their 
language,  accommodate  your  own  to  theirs,  and  do  not  attempt 
to  remodel  their  phraseology,  excepting  so  far  as  this  may  be 
demanded  by  the  interests  of  their  religious  life. 

2.  We  pass  to  the  neiolt/  converted.  The  fervor  of  their 
first  love  is  directly  useful  because  of  the  works  which  it 
produces.  There  are  many  important  forms  of  action  which 
are  peculiar  to  this  period  of  the  spiritual  life.  Moreover, 
this  fervor  is  also  useful  in  order  to  admonish  those  who  have 
allowed  the  gift  that  is  in  them  to  be  enfeebled;  this  is  a 
leaven  which  God  is  continually  introducing  into  the  mass  of 
the  Church.  But,  ordinarily,  this  period  is  not  one  of  equi- 
librium or  of  moderation,  and  it  was  not  without  reason  that 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  313 

the  primitive  Church  forbade  those  recently  converted  to  ex- 
ercise the  ministry.  This  period  is  generally  one  of  zealous 
bitterness,  of  contentiousness  of  mind,  of  harsh  judgments; 
the  mind  forgets  its  ancient  condition,  and  that  apparently  in 
proportion  as  it  has  ascended  from  a  lower  depth  to  its  present 
height.  Though  the  young  convert  knows  himself  to  have 
been  the  object  and  the  monument  of  marvellous  patience, 
he  is  himself  impatient,  and  would  say  of  his  neighbor,  as 
the  man  in  the  parable,  "  Cut  it  down  :  why  cumbereth  it  the 
ground  T'  Luke  xiii.  6-9.  This  is  also  the  time  when 
Christian  liberty  is  likely  to  be  abused  :  the  young  convert 
wishes  to  admonish  and  reprove  all,  and  perhaps  even  him 
from  whom  he  received  his  first  illumination ;  whence  also 
danger  results  for  the  latter,  who  will  not  always  be  ready  to 
say  with  Moses,  <'  Would  God  that  all  the  Lord's  people  were 
prophets !"  Num.  xi.  29.  All  this  will  induec  the  pastor 
to  treat  young  converts  with  indulgence  and  at  the  same  time 
with  severity.  Neither  must  the  spirit  which  is  in  them  be 
harshly  and  bitterly  repulsed,  nor  should  a  demon  be  allowed 
to  enter  in  through  the  breach  which  a  celestial  spirit  has 
made. 

3.  Another  class  is  that  of  the  awakened;  although  very 
often  those  whom  we  speak  of  as  awakened  are  truly  con- 
verted, conversion  being  simply  an  awakening.  The  awaken- 
ing of  the  soul  is  that  movement  of  interest  or  disquietude 
towards  spiritual  things  which,  after  a  prolonged  indifTercDce, 
it  experiences,  and  which  differs  from  other  experiences  of 
the  same  kind  which  it  may  have  had,  in  that  this  becomes 
a  ruling  and  habitual  state.  The  direction  of  such  souls  is 
a  delicate  matter.  We  must  aid  on  the  work  without  precipi- 
tating it;  we  must  help  its  movement,  but  not  carry  it  and 
supersede  its  own  activity ;  the  individuality  must  be  re- 
spected ;  we  niu.st  not  anticipate  nor  expect  a  series  of 
impressions  and  states  conformed  to  a  description  which  wo 


314  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

have  previously  elaborated.  We  must  not  wish  to  give  a 
name  to  each  separate  state ;  especially  we  must  not  enforce 
an  application  before  the  principle  has  been  received ;  we 
must  not  forget  that  if  there  are  habits  and  actions  which  at 
any  moment  whatever  of  the  spiritual  life  are  to  be  considered 
morbid,  there  are  others  whose  characteristics  reveal  them- 
selves only  gradually  and  in  proportion  as  the  principles  of 
Christianity  are  more  distinctly  and  clearly  seen;  and  that,  in 
the  guidance  of  souls,  too  facile  successes  may  portend  ulti- 
mate failure — that  they  may  be  complimentary  accommodations 
to  our  theories,  accomplished  without  any  consciousness  of 
their  necessity,  and  therefore  purely  arbitrary  in  their  char- 
acter. 

4.  There  are  souls  not  only  awakened  but  troubled,  in  whom 
that  disquietude  which  is  at  the  basis  of  all  awakening,  as- 
sumes the  aspect  of  despair  and  anguish.  We  may  even  say 
that,  in  many  cases,  this  trouble  precedes  the  true  awakening; 
and  that  often  such  souls  in  whom  an  interest  in  spiritual 
things  does  not  yet  really  exist,  address  themselves  to  the  pastor 
under  the  influence  of  a  vague  but  insupportable  anguish, 
coming  to  him  simply  with  the  thought  that  there  are  reme- 
dies for  the  soul  as  there  are  medicines  for  the  body,  and 
that  these  remedies  can  nowhere  be  better  obtained  than 
from  him.  The  pastor  may  always  be  assured  that  this 
trouble  arises  from  recollections  which  haunt  the  conscience, 
and  from  a  need  of  expiation  rather  felt  than  distinctly  per- 
ceived. In  such  souls  this  trouble  cannot  cease,  and  the 
principle  of  a  new  life  cannot  commence,  except  at  the  cost 
of  a  sincere  confession.*  We  must  know  how  to  obtain 
this  :  love,  however,  will  obtain  all.  The  greater  the  cost  of 
this  procedure,  the  more  necessity  is  there  for  it.     Often  all 

*  "He  that  covereth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper;  but  whoso  con- 
fesseth  and  forsaketh  them  shall  have  mercy." — Prov.  xxviii.  13. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  315 

appears  easy  after  the  first  effort,  and  the  soul,  as  if  rolicwod 
of  a  hurdcu  which  crushed  it,  goes  on  its  way  with  frecduui 
and  joy. 

We  may  here  speak  of  a  class  of  persons  whose  suids  are 
not  precisely  troubled,  but  whose  minds  are  more  or  less 
vexed  with  doubts  and  scruples.  In  the  one  case,  the  anxiety 
is  the  result  of  a  natural  skepticism ;  in  the  case  of  the 
others,  it  arises  from  a  disposition  to  be  harassed  with  every 
thing-,  or  from  an  indiscreet  curiosity.  Religious  movement 
has  so  disproportionately  multiplied  the  number  of  those  who 
seek  for  counsel  and  for  the  solution  of  difficulties,  that  it 
has  not  also  augmented  in  proportion  to  its  own  activity  the 
resources  of  moral  and  religious  instruction  which  we  require, 
and  which  the  pulpit  is  intended  to  impart. 

The  ministry  would  not  be  possible  were  not  the  secrets  of 
confession  inviolable  with  us  as  in  the  llomish  Church. 
Every  person  who  intrusts  his  secret  thus  to  the  pastor  ought 
to  be  able  to  rely  upon  secrecy ;  but  when  the  revelation  of 
the  secret  is  the  only  means  of  preventing  a  crime,  the  reten- 
tion of  it  is  complicity  with  the  criminal.  But  in  this  ease 
the  very  appearance  of  a  surprise  must  be  avoided. 

The  formal  absolution  which  follows  confession  in  the 
(latholic  Church  rests  on  an  idea  which  is  perfectly  Chris- 
tian. The  llomanist  is  only  mistaken  when  he  attaches  ab- 
solution to  the  external  act  of  confession,  and  not  to  the  dis- 
positions and  intentions  indicated  in  the  passage  which  wo 
have  quoted.*  This  it  is  which  the  minister  should  strongly 
enforce,  as  also  the  absence  of  all  merit  and  of  all  intrinsic 
virtue  to  reconcile  in  the  acts  of  self-denial  or  of  reparation 
which  may  succeed  confession,  and  which  in  certain  cases 
may  be  useful  and  are  to  be  recommended.  Among  these 
acts,  a  confession  made  to  others  than  the  pastor,  especially 

[*  See  the  preceding  note.] 


iJ16  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

to  the  person  offended,  if  there  is  one,  may  be  very  import- 
ant, and  sometimes  absolutely  necessary.  Sometimes  even 
it  may  be  that  only  a  public  confession  is  a  sufficient  ac- 
knowledgment, but  I  very  much  doubt  whether  the  pastor 
can  ever  suggest  this  idea;  he  may  even  sometimes  dissuade 
the  penitent  man  from  such  a  course;  to  confirm  him  in 
this  purpose  is  to  assume  a  grave  responsibility ;  nevertheless 
we  may  find  ourselves  called  upon  to  do  this.  A  scandal 
given  by  an  entire  life  may  demand,  at  the  hour  of  death,  a 
rejiaration  of  this  kind. 

5.  We  must  yet  speak  of  the  orthodox  who  do  violence  to 
the  faith,  not  in  its  object  but  in  its  character,  by  regarding 
it  as  a  work,  thus  defeating  and  denying  the  work  of  God, 
by  accepting  it  with  the  show  of  a  perfect  submission.  They 
verify  the  remark  of  the  poet, 

De  mal  croyant  a  m^cr^ant 
L'intervalle  n'est  pas  grand — 

that  between  them  who  believe  in  a  false  way  and  the  apos- 
tate there  is  no  great  interval. 

The  cure  of  this  religious  malady  is  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult, since  the  merit  of  servile  exactitude  may  be  attached  to 
the  most  evangelical  belief.  Some  have  the  unfortunate  art 
of  making  Christianity  stoop  to  serve  the  lower  parts  of  their 
nature,  and  to  make  it  the  patron  of  their  laxity  and  their 
envy.  Here  what  is  wanting  is  properly  life,  and  life  must 
be  awakened ;  the  work  which  appeared  to  be  accomplished 
has  to  be  commenced,  and  there  is  no  point  of  departure  but 
repentance.  The  orthodox  individual  must  retrace  with  his 
heart  and  conscience  all  the  road  which  he  has  passed  through 
with  his  intellect  and  imagination ;  he  must  believe  in 
another  mode  what  in  one  mode  he  h«s  believed  in  for  a  long 
time.  This  dead  orthodoxy  has  two  shades ;  it  may  assume 
two  characters.     There  are  o^iho^LOx  formalists,  to  whom  we 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  317 

must  exhibit  a  worship  that  is  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  John 
iv.  24 ;  and  there  arc  orthodox  legalistic,  who  cleave  to  the 
letter  of  gospel  precepts,  but  allow  the  spirit  to  escape  them. 
However,  in  regard  to  these  last,  we  must  be  careful  not  to 
pronounce  too  hastily,  since  there  are  slaves  to  the  law  who 
are  by  no  means  Pharisees ;  that  is  to  say,  are  by  no  means 
filled  with  ideas  of  merit  and  self-righteousness.  We  must 
ascertain  whether,  in  the  servility  and  anxiety  of  their 
obedience,  they  do  not  belong  to  the  number  of  those  whom 
the  Gospel  has  at  once  characterized  and  blessed  in  the 
following  declarations  :  "  Then  Jesus  beholding  him  loved 
him,  and  said  unto  him,  One  thing  thou  lackest :  go  4hy  way, 
sell  whatsoever  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou 
shalt  have  treasure  in  leaven  ;  and  come,  take  up  the  cross, 
and  follow  me."  Mark  x.  21.  "And  the  scribe  said  unto 
him.  Well,  IMaster,  thou  hast  said  the  truth :  for  there  is 
one  God ;  and  there  is  none  other  but  he ;  and  to  love  him 
with  all  the  heart,  and  with  all  the  understanding,  and  with 
all  the  soul,  and  to  love  his  neighbor  as  himself,  is  more  than 
all  whole  burnt-oflPerings  and  sacrifices.  And  when  Jesus 
saw  that  he  answered  discreetly,  he  said  unto  him.  Thou  art 
not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God."  Mark  xii.  32-34.  In 
these  there  is  the  germ  and  basis  of  true  faith. 

There  are  some  souls  in  a  singular  condition,  which  has 
been  too  little  observed.  They  are  those  who  have  antici- 
pated— that  is,  have  taken  for  granted — the  grace  of  the 
gospel ;  who  have  appropriated  to  themselves  all  the  pro- 
mises before  they  have  felt  all  the  grief,  the  distaste,  the 
fear,  the  death,  (so  to  speak,)  which  are  naturally  connected 
with  the  consciousness  of  sin.  They  believe,  they  bless, 
they  confess,  they  say  with  intelligenoe  and  sincerity  all  that 
true  Christians  say;  but  they  want,  I  will  not  say  the  joy, 
which  is  not  a  habitual  disposition  with  every  true  Christian, 
but  the  peace,  the  love,  and,  to  say  all  in  one  word,  the  life 


318  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

of  a  Christian.  These  are  not  to  be  confounded  with  those 
whom  we  have  called  orthodox;  they  have  not  all  the 
security  of  these ;  they  afe  at  once  in  a  better  and  in  a 
worse  condition,  not  having  fulfilled  all  righteousness,  but 
knowing  that  they  have  not.  This  condition,  though  a 
remarkable,  is  yet  a  common  one;  and  although  it  is  difficult 
to  unravel  all  its  complexities,  since  that  which  underlies  it 
can  itself  hardly  recognize  its  own  existence,  yet  a  minister 
who  has  become  a  penetrating  observer  from  having  watched 
the  movements  of  his  own  heart,  will  know  well  how  to 
discern  it.  To  apply  the  remedy  is  the  greatest  difficulty. 
The  steps,  the  order  of  time  in  spiritual  life,  have  been 
inverted.  This  Christian  is  one  by  anticipation,  and,  so  to 
speak,  by  hypothesis.  He  is  habituated  to  the  profession 
and  external  enjoyment  of  a  Christianity  which  only  pos- 
sesses his  intellect  or  his  imagination.  His  mouth  has 
uttered,  "  Lord,  Lord !"  before  his  heart.  He  is  accustomed 
to  the  phrases,  the  forms,  the  thoughts  of  Christianity,  with- 
out having  admitted  them  into  his  soul,  and,  consequently, 
60  that  they  become  rather  distasteful  than  welcome  to  him. 
In  order  that  life  may  be  relished,  death  must  be  tasted ; 
but  if  from  death  we  naturally  ascend  to  life,  we  cannot 
similarly  descend  from  life  to  death,  and  we  cannot  command 
ourselves  to  pass  at  once  through  all  the  phases  of  a  sorrow- 
ing novitiate.  This  is  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  that 
we  can  encounter  in  our  spiritual  career,  and  one  which 
must  put  all  the  patience  and  prudence  of  a  pastor  to  a 
severe  test.  One  sign  by  which  we  may  recognize  these 
persons  is  the  absence  of  progress  and  movement  in  their 
spiritual  life.  At  first,  the  pastor  may  find  them  well 
disposed,  ready  to  confess  their  sins,  their  insufficiency,  their 
need  of  redemption  and  of  the  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 
but  every  time  that  he  returns,  he  will  hear  the  same 
language;  variety,  even  more  than  reality,  will  be  wanting. 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  319 

If  he  is  called  upon  to  treat  a  malady  of  this  kind,  he  must, 
on  the  one  hand,  see  that  the  soul  of  whom  we  are  speaking 
recognizes  its  own  condition,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
must  watch  lest  it  do  not  lose  that  which  it  already  has,  by 
reason  of  the  manner  in  which  this  has  been  obtained.  lie 
cannot  forbear  to  speak  to  it  of  grace,  to  remind  it  of  the 
promises  which  it  has  accepted,  and  which  it  is  always  right  * 
in  accepting;  he  may  not  change  any  one  of  the  conditions 
of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  deny  to  that  soul  the  privileges 
which  it  is  well  for  it  to  possess;  but  he  must  warn  it  against 
hypocrisy,  against  the  habit  of  allowing  manifestations  which 
exaggerate  both  to  itself  and  to  others  the  advantages  of  its 
condition  ;  he  must  then  exhort  it  to  a  quiet  and  interior 
activity,  to  the  severest  study  and  application  of  the  law,  to 
all  that  disciplines  and  mortifies  the  spirit,  as  well  as  to  all 
those  works  which,  while  they  presuppose  charity,  develop 
it  without  the  danger  of  inflatiug  the  spirit — in  one  word,  to 
imitate  Jesus  Christ  in  silence  and  retirement,  lint  the 
shades  of  this  condition  may  vary  very  greatly ;  each  parti- 
cular variety  at  once  demands  and  suggests  special  measures. 
The  important  point  (and  it  is  this  that  we  have  especially 
in  view)  is  to  discern  each  state,  and  to  estimate  it  accu- 
rately. 

G.  We  may  consider  sJcpjJtics  as  forming  a  class  of  those 
who  are  neither  indiflfercnt  nor  troubled,  neither  infidel  nor 
believing,  but  who,  through  infirmity  or  an  acquired  evil 
habit  of  mind,  cannot  gain  stability  on  any  question.  There 
are  minds  which  are  naturally  skeptical,  who  consider  in- 
cessantly, and  never  arrive  at  a  conclusion.  The  pastor  will 
hardly  pretend  to  reform  these ;  but  after  having  attempted, 
as  far  as  he  is  able,  to  cast  arguments  into  one  scale  of  the 
balance,  or  rather  hcfovc  he  makes  this  attempt,  he  ought  to 
endeavor  to  render  those  men  more  serious  who,  without 
belonging  absolutely  to  the  class  of  indilfcrcnls,  arc  perhaps 


320  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

far  from  giving  to  the  question  of  religion  all  the  interests 
which  it  demands.  [In  order  to  render  a  man  serious  and 
able  to  decide  on  such  questions,  he  must  be  possessed  with 
a  sense  of  the  infinite.]  The  most  incredulous  skeptic  does 
not  doubt  the  existence  of  his  own  soul,  and  if  we  can 
succeed  in  making  him  feel  the  presence  and  the  priceless 
value  of  this  soul,  we  have  placed  him  in  the  right  point  of 
view  for  regarding  questions  of  this  kind— we  have,  in  some 
sort,  given  a  direction  to  his  spirit. 

There  are  sincere  and  unhappy  spirits  who,  influenced  by 
the  spirit  of  truth  and  touched  by  the  gospel,  believe  in 
their  state  of  sin,  abjure  all  self-righteousness,  only  desire  to 
be  clothed  in  the  righteousness  of  God,  would  be  ready  to 
accept  it  if  they  could  believe  that  it  is  offered  to  them,  and 
yet -find  themselves  prevented  from  entering  the  gate  by  a 
chain  which  seems  to  have  been  forged  for  them  by  educa- 
tion, by  their  first  impressions,  by  too  much  or  too  little 
knowledge,  by  their  questionings  concerning  real  existences, 
by  a  skeptical  temperament  which  manifests  itself  jn  them  with 
regard  even  to  things  the  most  foreign  to  religion.  When 
we  meet  with  such  minds,  it  is  good  to  remind  them,  in  the 
words  of  a  luminous  writer,  "  that  faith  is  perfected  in  the 
will ;  that  faith  is  nothing  but  the  will  to  accept  pardon  from 
God,  and  to  renounce  all  search  for  other  modes  of  salvation  ; 
that  even  the  doubts  which  may  remain  in  our  spirits  do  not 
afi"ect  him ;  that  God  has  not  made  our  salvation  to  depend 
on  the  fluctuating  changes  of  our  feeble  understanding ;  that 
it  is  not  the  intellect  which  consents  to  receive  grace,  nor 
the  imagination  which  is  moved  by  it — that  it  is  the  will, 
the  only  faculty  which  is  always  free,  although  ever  feeble, 
which  accepts  pardon,  turns  to  God,  and  may  ever  cry, 
'  Lord,  I  believe :  help  thou  my  unbelief  " 

7.  The  indifferent  form  a  numerous  class,  inferior,  not 
only  to  the  orthodox,  but  even  to  the  infidel  also,  since  there 


TASTORAL    LIFE.  321 

is  Romcthino-  positive  in  the  infidelity  of  these.  IIoAvcver, 
their  opinions,  or  rather  their  want  of  opinions,  phicc  them, 
logically,  in  an  intermediate  position.* 

These  are  generally  worldly  men,  given  to  business  or  to 
dissipation,  who  have  not  leisure  to  be  cither  orthodox  or 
infidel.  There  are,  in  the  actual  state  of  things,  oppcir- 
tunities  of  reaching  this  class.  They  arc  not  without  rela- 
tions to  the  Church,  into  which  they  are  still  brought  by 
habit  or  respectability.  They  meet  the  pastor  at  the  houses 
of  other  persons,  in  society,  or  even  immediately  in  civil 
aflFairs,  or  on  important  occasions.  They  have  domestic 
aftections,  joys,  and  sorrows;  they  arc  men;  and  on  the  side 
of  their  humanity  we  may  reach  them.  All  these  aflfections 
have  affinity  to  religion,  without  which,  moreover,  none  of 
them  have  a  complete  meaning;  all  these  fundamental  rela- 
tions involve  and  imply  a  still  higher  one. 

When  we  have  obtained  their  hearing,  we  must  destroy 
their  security,  and  show  them  that  though  their  character  is 
indiffrrcnf,  their  position  is  not.  We  must  not  hesitate  to 
employ  the  agency  of  fear;  in  most  cases,  it  is  even  im- 
possible to  bring  back  the  idea  of  God  to  the  soul  without 
introducing  the  sentiment  of  fear.  But,  without  altogether 
abandoning  this  agency,  we  must,  if  we  can  bring  any  other 
chords  into  vibration,  seek  to  affect  them  by  these  gentler 
chords. 

8.  There  are,  perhaps,  not  many  infidels  whom  we  have  a 
full  right  to  address  as  such.  And,  doubtless,  we  can  hardly 
engage  them,  without  some  preliminaries,  in  a  conversation, 
which,  under  the  circumstances,  would  have  necessarily  tho 
form  of  interrogation.  But  infidelity  has  practical  maxims 
as  well  as  dogmatic  formulas,  and,  in  default  of  the  second, 
the  first  may  enable  us  to  enter  upon  the  domain  of  religious 


*  Soo  [M.  Viuct's]  Discourse  on  Religious  Indiffcvcncc. 
11 


oS^  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

instruction.  And,  moreover,  infidelity  sometimes  docs  not 
openly  avow  itself  as  such;  it  is  generally  satisfied  with 
innuendoes,  indirect  allusions,  or  irony.  We  must  not  set  out 
with  the  idea  that  every  attack,  direct  or  indirect,  must  lead 
to  a  discussion.  Much  rather  ought  we  to  avoid  a  discussion 
before  a  third  party,  unless  it  is  directly  provoked.  It  must 
be  absolutely  declined  when  the  attack  is  only  a  sarcasm  or 
tin  insult.  We  must,  as  far  as  possible,  transform  the  dis- 
course with  an  appeal  to  the  conscience  and  a  discourse 
tending  to  edification. 

Wc  cannot  reasonably  expect  the  pastor  to  engage  in 
formal  conflict,  on  the  ground  of  science,  with  learned  men 
who  derive  the  arms  with  which  they  attack  religion  from 
their  own  special  pursuit.  A  clergy  on  this  footing,  as 
M.  Vincent  demands  in  his  "  Religious  and  Theological 
Miscellanies,"  is  an  impossibility.  To  professional  men 
must  be  opposed  men  of  the  same  profession.  Religion  has 
more  than  one  class  of  ministers,  and  more  than  one  order 
of  proofs. 

Infidelity  prides  itself,  even  in  the  case  of  the  most 
ignorant,  on  its  positive  character;  that  is  to  say,  on  the  fact 
that  something  is  believed,  in  opposition  to  the  beliefs  which 
religion  proposes.  Each  has  his  system,  which  is  often 
nothing  but  a  mass  of  gratuitous  and  incoherent  assertions, 
a  collection  of  sententious  phrases  extracted  without  intelli- 
gence from  conversations  and  from  books.  There  is  no 
doctrine  so  abstract  or  so  subtile  which  is  not  reproduced, 
under  some  trivial  and  puerile  form,  in  the  language  of  these 
men  who  arc  so  mighty  in  their  derived  strength.  Scorn 
and  contempt  are  never  seasonable,  never  useful ;  but  there 
is  no  reason  why  wc  should  accord  to  the  ambitious  plati- 
tudes of  ignorant  infidelity  an  honor  which  they  do  not 
deserve,  and  engage  in  discussions  which,  if  they  might  lead 
to  some  results  with  persons  of  cultivated  minds,  have  often 


PA  ST  oil  A  li    LIFE.  o'So 

neither  result  nor  limit  when  conducted  with  narrow  and 
iiiuorant  minds.  Nevertheless,  if  it  is  useful  to  <^ivc  them 
to  understand  that  they  cannot  have  a  system  at  so  cheap  a 
rate  as  they  supposed,  it  is  still  more  useful,  either  then,  or 
at  the  outset,  to  lead  them  into  another  region  of  thought, 
that,  viz.,  of  conscience  and  experience — to  awaken  in  them 
the  wants  that  they  have  suffered  to  fall  asleep — to  present 
before  them,  in  all  its  beauty,  the  work  and  character  of 
God  as  they  are  manifested  in  the  gospel,  and  the  privileges 
of  a  Christian  as  they  arc  attested  by  a  genuinely  Christian 
life. 

9.  We  have  more  to  do  with  that  rationalism  which 
accepts  the  sacred  writings,  than  with  infidelity  which 
rejects  them.  We  do  not  speak  only  of  a  learned  rational- 
ism, with  which  the  simple  pastor  cannot  always  venture  a 
contest  on  polemical  grounds,  but  a  superficial  and  second- 
hand rationalism,  which  seeks  to  blunt  the  edge  of  those 
go.'jpel  truths  by  which  it  is  wounded.  Wc  risk  little  by  the 
a.ssertion  that  this  rationalism  has  ordinarily  for  its  principle 
a  repugnance  of  the  heart,  and  that  we  must  seek  for  the 
arms  with  which  to  do  battle  with  it  in  the  conscience  of 
the  rationalist.  On  this  account,  without  neglecting  the 
arguments  of  another  character  which  are  furnished  by 
science,  and  without  showing  a  disposition  to  avoid  open 
conflict,  we  must  chiefly  make  use  of  the  immense  internal 
evidences  which  Christianity  possesses,*  and  appeal  to  the 
conscience  as  a  witness  for  it.  Let  us  never  forget  how 
strong  the  Scripture  is,  and  how  self-sufficient:  the  more  wc 
make  use  of  iScripturc  in  order  to  explain  Scripture,  the 
more  shall  we  be  struck  with  the  excellence  of  this  method. 

*  It  may  he  well  here  to  mention  .some  works,  more  or  less 
popular,  on  tlio  Evidences  of  Cliristi.anity.  We  would  refer  to  tlioso 
l>y  Cellerier,  Boguc,  Erskinc,  Whatcly,  Jennings,  Palcy,  and  Chal- 
mers. 


324  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

We  cannot  too  much  advise  ministers  to  let  the  word  oi' 
God  dwell  and  ahoxind  in  them,  so  that,  having  learned  it 
by  heart,  and  received  it  into  the  heart,  the  principal 
passages  of  the  sacred  books  may  be  easily  and  appropriately 
suggested  to  the  mind  in  every  case  of  need.  This  know- 
ledge ought  to  apply,  not  only  to  isolated  parts,  but  to 
passages  as  combined  into  a  unity,  and  the  sense  of  each 
verse  ought  to  present  itself  as  penetrated  with  the  sense 
and  savor  of  all  the  principal  passages  which  relate  to  the 
same  subject.  Such  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  in  such  a 
degree,  (talis  et  tanta,)  cannot  be  too  highly  recommended 
to  all  ministers  of  the  gospel,  or  dispensers  of  the  word 
of  God. 

10.  There  are,  without  the  pale  of  Christian  beliefs,  a 
class  of  stoics,  whose  religion  is  properly  a  matter  of  dut^, 
even  though  they  may  seem  and  desire  to  regard  God  as  the 
object  of  duty.  This  class  of  men  deserves  the  greatest 
attention,  and  should  be  proposed,  if  not  as  a  model,  yet 
certainly  as  an  instructive  example  to  those  who  have, 
perhaps,  too  easily  and  too  quickly  accepted  grace  before 
they  have  sufficiently  felt  all  the  weight  of  the  law.  These 
stoics  are  either  in  great  error,  or  they  pay  too  much  heed  to 
the  abuses  which  Christians  make  of  their  liberty.  But  if 
the  first  service  to  render  them  is  to  show,  by  our  example, 
that  Christianity  sanctions  no  lax  system  of  morals,  this  is 
not  the  only  service :  we  must  explain  to  them,  whenever  we 
have  the  opportunity,  the  infinite  character  of  Christian 
morality,  the  terrible  disproportion  that  exists  between  the 
law  as  taken  from  a  Christian  point  of  view,  which  is  that 
of  eternal  principle,  and  the  capacity  to  fulfil  it.  Lastly, 
we  must  help  them  to  experience,  in  the  midst  of  their 
severe  toils,  the  consolation  that  there  is  in  love,  which  alone 
can  make  the  fulfilling  of  the  law  a  work  of  joy,  and  which 
is  shed  abroad  in  the  heart  only  by  the  Spirit  of  Jesus 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  325 

Clirist,  and  by  the  assuraucc  of  having  been  tlie  object  of 
his  love.  Obviously  1  do  not  confound  these  stoics,  zealously 
devoted  to  duty,  with  those  vulgar  moralists  who  submit 
themselves,  not  to  the  moral  law,  but  to  their  oton  moral  law, 
and  who  only  accept  the  law  when  they  have  levelled  it  with 
their  carnal  sense  and  their  worldly  interests. 

11.  There  are  two  duties  which  the  pastor  owes  to  the 
members  of  his  flock,  regarded  as  sinners  and  as  subject  to 
the  precepts  of  a  moral  law — reproof  and  guidance. 

Rejiroof. — This  is  a  duty  of  the  pastor.  Every  sponta- 
neous application  of  the  duty  of  the  cure  of  souls  involves 
this.  It  is,  moreover,  expressly  imposed  upon  pastors  in  the 
Gospel.  Reproof  is  difficult  at  all  times  and  for  all  persons; 
still  more  difficult  in  the  actual  state  of  the  people.  We 
have  but  to  compare  this  state  with  that  of  the  primitive 
Church,  or  of  any  other  in  which  its  essential  characteristics 
are  reproduced.  This  duty,  in  a  community  which  should 
be  homogeneous  and  firmly  united,  would  be  almost  identical 
with  that  of  fraternal  correction,  and  might  take  cognizance 
chiefly  of  negative  tendencies  and  facts.  At  present,  in 
almost  all  associations  for  worship,  that  would  be  really  an 
inquisition  which  should  go  beneath  notorious  and  public 
facts,  and  in  all  cases  hcXovf  positive  facts. 

The  absolute  non-froquenting  of  public  worship  is  a  nega- 
tive fact.  May  we  ask  a  reason  for  it  from  those  whom  we 
may  have  to  reproach  for  it?  How  and  under  what  pre- 
tence shall  we  accost  them  ?  Have  we,  or  have  we  not, 
duties  towards  them? 

A  man  who  is  not  of  our  parish,  in  the  sense  that  all  his 
acts  testify  that  he  is  without  the  pale  of  the  Church,  has 
no  right  to  our  rebukes;  and  the  discipline  of  this  soul  does 
not  enter,  properly  speaking,  into  our  pastoral  sphere,  if  we 
regard  our  position  from  an  official  or  conventional  point  of 
view  only.     But  if  the  pastor  has  still  in  him  something  of  a 


326  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

missionary  spirit,  or  if,  besides  the  pastor,  ttiere  is  no 
missionary,  who  then  can  dispute  his  right  to  have  com- 
passion and  even  to  carry  that  succor  which  has  never  been 
sought  for  from  him  ?  Sin  is  a  malady ;  crime  is  a  disaster  : 
would  it  be  less  natural  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  a  man.  thus 
grievously  afflicted,  than  to  aid  a  man  whose  house  has  been 
destroyed  by  an  incendiary  ? 

Love  and  humility,  those  two  inseparable  virtues,  because 
they  are  naturally  conditions  of  one  another,  impart  to 
rebuke  appropriateness,  moderation,  and  true  force.* 

St.  Paul  (1  Tim.  v.  1-5)  has  shown,  or  at  least  has  indi- 
cated what  reproof  ought  to  be,  according  to  the  difference 
of  ages  and  sexes.  By  analogy  we  may  find  other  dis- 
tinctions. 

It  is  well  known  that  inMic  rebuke  of  individuals  can 
never  take  place  in  our  Churches,  as  they  are  at  present  con- 
stituted, and  it  is  even  doubtful  whether  it  is  expedient  and 
proper  under  any  form  of  ecclesiastical  government. f 

Guidance. — If  we  are  called  to  give  to  any  soul  counsels 
to  guide  and  direct  it,  which  is  neither  foreign  nor  contradic- 
tory to  the  principles  of  Protestant  Christianity,  we  must  be 
careful  not  to  dissect  our  morality  into  too  many  fragments, 
but  we  must  always  deduce  particular  rules  from  general 
principles :  we  must  hold  the  middle  course  between  that 
ultra-methodical  tendency  which  would  regulate  every  thing 
beforehand,  and  which  gradually  introduces  the  slavery  of 
the  law  and  the  pride  of  self-righteousness,  and  that  vague 
spirituality  which  feeds  on  sentiments,  and  will  not  hear 
cither  of  precautions  or  of  methods.  We  must  not  reject 
the  idea  of  an  art  or  a  method  of  living  well,  only  we  must 

*  "  II  ne  faut  pas  casser  les  vitres, 
Mais  il  faut  bien  les  netfoyer." 

—See  Beiigel's  Thoughts,  No.  27. 
■j-  See  Part  IV.,  chap,  i.,  on  Discipline. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  327 

not  make  it  too  minute,  nor  the  same  for  all.  Bossuct  has 
said  that  "love  knows  nothing  of  order,  and  cannot  suhjcct 
itself  to  methods ;  that  its  order  is  confusion ;  that  distrac- 
tion cannot  come  from  this  region."  But  I  see  nothing  con- 
tradictory to  love  in  the  care  with  which  a  Christian  seeks 
for  the  best  means  of  showing  his  love  to  his  Lord,  (Eph.  v. 
10,)  and  the  best  means  of  retaining  this  love.  Our  feeble- 
ness makes  order  a  necessity,  and  does  not  allow  us  abso- 
lutely to  despise  method.  In  our  direction  we  should  limit 
ourselves  neither  to  the  internal  nor  to  the  external  life. 

We  must  respect  the  principles  of  liberty  and  responsi- 
bility, refuse  to  become  in  the  stead  of  a  conscience  for  any 
man ;  for  those  are  not  wanting  who  will  be  desirous  of  re- 
signing theirs  into  our  hands. 

If,  to  apply  a  corresponding  analogy,  men  must  not  be  car- 
ried on  the  shoulders  of  their  fellows,  so  as  to  lose  the  use 
of  their  limbs  and  the  feeling  of  their  own  proper  capacity 
for  motion,  so  also  we  must  not  expect  too  much  in  too  short 
a  time.  In  two  words,  which  express  the  substance  of  these 
two  rules,  we  must  not  guide  too  much,  nor  urge  on  too 
much.  [We  must  know  how  to  wait,  and  yet,  at  the  same 
time,  to  act — not  impatiently  to  despair  of  those  who  arc 
committed  to  our  charge,  but  nevertheless  to  aid  them  unre- 
mittingly.] 

Be  careful  not  to  encourage,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  re- 
press the  vain  words,  the  religious  gossip  of  those  souls  which 
are  ''  ever  learning,  and  never  able  to  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth."  2  Tim.  iii.  7.  [Speech  then  becomes,  as  it 
were,  a  crevice  through  which  the  vapor  which  ought  to  move 
the  machine  is  suflfcred  to  escape.] 

12.  General  conuscls. — We  have  enumerated  the  diflfcrcnt 
positions,  as  to  dogmas  and  morals,  in  which  the  different 
members  of  our  flock  may  be  placed.  Let  us  now  leave  this 
distinction,  and,  taking  all  those  classes  at  once,  let  us  give. 


328  TASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

relatively  to  the  guidance  of  souls  in  general,  some  summary 
directions : 

Always,  and  to  all  men,  be  open  and  straightforward. 

Be  willing  to  believe,  as  far  as  possible,  in  the  good  inten- 
tions of  all. 

Regard  ideas  rather  than  words,  and  feelings  rather  than 
ideas.  Feeling,  or  afiection,  is  the  true  moral  reality.  How 
many  heresies  of  thought  find  an  antidote  in  the  feeling  of 
the  heart  I  and,  on  the  other  hand,  how  many  who  are  ortho- 
dox in  belief  are  heretics  at  heart !  Men  may  refuse  the 
word  while  they  grant  the  thing,  or  refuse  the  thing  while 
they  patronize  the  word  ! 

If  you  have  detected  in  an  adversary  a  spirit  of  treachery 
and  duplicity,  if  you  find  you  are  dealing  with  one  who  raises 
difiiculties  for  their  own  sake,  withdraw  from  a  contest  in  which 
there  is  nothing  serious,  and  do  not  answer  the  fool  according 
to  his  folly.     Prov.  xxvi.  4. 

Beware  lest  you  regard  yourself  as  personally  offended  by 
resistance,  and  by  the  unjust  things  that  are  said  against  the 
truths  that  you  preach. 

Do  not  appear  as  though  you  considered  all  rash  and  in- 
discreet observations,  either  in  doctrine  or  morals,  as  blasphe- 
mies. 

Be  persevering,  but  not  obtrusive. 

Do  not  expect  to  see  your  arguments  exert  an  absolute  and 
uniform  force  upon  all  minds.  We  cannot  always  tell  why 
an  argument,  which  is  ineffective  when  presented  to  some,  is 
found  to  be  powerful  on  others,  nor  why  that  which  at  one 
time  makes  no  impression  on  an  individual,  at  another  time 
makes  a  very  great  impression  upon  him.*     This  is  a  Divine 

*  "It  must  be  confessed,"  says  Leibnitz,  in  a  letter  to  Madame  de 
Brinon,  "that  the  human  heart  has  many  windings  and  involutions, 
and  that  its  persuasions  are  according  to  its  tastes :  we  ourselves  are 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  329 

secret,  and  all  our  attention,  all  our  contrivances,  leave  the 
final  result  always  in  the  hands  of  God.  Nothing  must  be 
expeetcd  that  does  not  come  from  him ;  every  thing  must  be 
attributed  to  him. 

Attend  rather  to  the  dispositions  with  whictf  y^u  discharge 
your  task,  than  to  the  facility  with  which  you  use  your 
means.  The  first  of  all  luminaries,  forces,  preservatives, 
defences,  is  charity.  The  spirit  of  the  government  of  souls, 
and  of  the  whole  pastoral  office,  is  included  in  the  sentiment 
so  profoundly  expressed  in  our  Lord's  words  :  "  Ye  will  not 
come  to  me  that  yc  might  have  life."     John  v.  40. 

Add  to  your  instructions  the  weight  of  your  example, 
being  well  .assured  that  the  true  method  of  communicating 
moral  truth  is  the  method  of  contact ;  that  only  life  can  pro- 
ceed from  life ;  and  that,  in  fact.  Christians  are  decisive  argu- 
ments for  or  against  Christianity. 

Join  and  mingle  prayer  with  all  your  efforts  and  with  all 
your  movements,  either  to  ask  counsel  of  God,  or  in  order  to 
commend  to  him  the  souls  that  are  committed  to  your  care, 
or  to  keep  yourself  to  the  right  point  of  view,  and  in  a  true 
sense  of  the  nature  of  your  work. 

In  fine,  what  solicitude,  what  cares,  ever  renewed,  must 
enter  into  the  work  of  the  ministry,  since  we  must,  as  the 
Jews  who  rebuilt  the  temple,  hold  a  sword  in  one  hand,  and 
build  with  the  other.  "  Besides  those  things  that  are  with- 
out, I  am  charged,"  said  St.  Paul,  "  with  that  which  comcth 
upon  me  daily,  the  care  of  all  the  Churches :  who  is  weak, 

not.  always  in  the  same  temper,  and  that  which  strikes  us  vividly 
sometimes,  at  other  limes  doe.s  not  impress  us  at  all.  These  are  what 
I  call  inexplicable  reasons ;  there  is  something  in  them  that  passes 
our  comprehension.  It  often  happens  that  the  hest  proofs  in  the 
AvorM  arc  incfTcctive,  and  that  what  touches  us  is  not,  properly 
."poakinp,  a  proof  at  all."  Complete  Works  of  Bossuet.  Par^s  and 
r.esanvon,  lt<'2H.     Vol.  xxxv.,  p.  l.'J2. 


330  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

and  I  am  not  weak  ?  who  is  offended,  and  I  burn  not  ?" 
2  Cor.  xi.  28,  29.  "  Wherefore,  also,  we  pray  always  for  you, 
that  our  God  would  count  you  worthy  of  this  calling,  and 
fulfil  all  the  good  pleasure  of  his  goodness,  and  the  work  of 
faith  with  power."     2  Thess.  i.  11. 

§  III. — EXTERNAL   STATE. 

The  internal  condition  is  always  modified  by  the  external, 
and  the  external  by  the  internal ;  and  as  this  combination 
forms  the  actual  and  entire  state  of  every  individual,  it  ought 
to  be  carefully  appreciated.  Neither  of  these  elements,  sepa- 
rated from  the  other,  has  a  complete  significance;  but  these 
combinations,  which  vary  infinitely,  can  neither  be  foreseen 
nor  regulated ;  we  are  necessitated  to  study  external  condi- 
tions independently  of  internal,  and  conversely. 

External  conditions  are,  naturally,  of  two  opposite  kinds, 
liappy  or  unfortunate ;  but  it  is  obvious  that  pastoral  pru- 
dence will  occupy  itself  almost  exclusively  with  the  latter. 
There  are  exceptional  or  sudden  times  of  happiness  which 
are  similar  to  catastrophes,  [which,  in  the  dramatical  sense 
of  the  term,  are  catastrophes,]  and  may  be  regarded  as  such. 
Every  event  which  excites  a  lively  sentiment  of  joy  in  the 
heart  may  give  occasion  to  the  pastor  to  admonish  or  warn 
while  he  congratulates ;  and  when  he  does  not  seek  to  intro- 
duce an  element  of  bitterness  into  a  natural  joy,  but  to  invite 
regard  to  serious  thoughts  in  the  midst  of  joyful  ones,  there 
is,  in  most  cases,  a  probability  of  his  being  favorably  received ; 
however,  there  are  positions  of  an  opposite  kind  which  make 
the  most  direct  appeal  to  his  zeal. 

A  pastor  will  do  well  to  see,  as  far  as  possible,  the  afflicted 
of  all  kinds ;  but  there  are  many  cases  in  which  he  cannot 
easily  gain  access  to  them.  In  notorious  cases  of  misfortune 
of  whatever  kind,  he  has  both  a  right  and  an  obligation  to 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  331 

present  himself;  the  fraternal  affection  displayed  in  these 
cases  by  the  pastor  is  the  first  part  of  his  ministry,  and  may, 
if  it  is  accompanied  by  all  the  respect  that  is  due  to  great 
misfortunes,  gain  for  him  the  confidence  of  families  and  indi- 
viduals ;  but  the  most  frequent  and  favorable  opportunities 
are  found  in  cases  of  severe  sickness. 

1.  Tlic  side. — The  care  of  the  sick  is  one  of  the  most  sa- 
cred of  the  pastor's  duties,  the  touchstone  of  his  vocation, 
both  for  himself  and  for  others ;  and  we  may  say  that  the 
manner  in  which  this  duty  is  understood  and  fulfilled,  will 
give  a  measure  by  which  to  estimate  the  amount  of  Christian 
life  and  thought  existing  in  every  religious  period. 

The  pastor's  visits  to  the  sick  arc  not  only  useful  to  the 
patient  himself,  but  to  all  who  are  about  him,  and  who  arc 
rendered,  by  this  circumstance,  specially  accessible  to  reli- 
gious instruction ;  they  are  useful  to  the  pastor  himself,  who 
can  find  no  better  opportunity  of  learning  human  nature,  life, 
and  his  own  ministry.  Sickness  places  a  man  in  a  position 
in  which  we  have  an  antecedent  advantage  in  influencing 
him ;  the  sick  man  is  the  man  in  a  position  that  is  most 
natural  and  true  to  him.* 

The  pastor's  success,  or  only  his  zeal,  in  this  part  of  his 
ministry,  is  one  of  the  things  best  adapted  to  render  him 
popular.  Every  one  appreciates  the  merit  of  this  kind  of 
work,  even  without  suflicicntly  loving  all  its  aims  and  results. 

Doubtless  he  must  know  how  to  surmount  many  distasteful 
experiences  and  many  fears,  were  it  only  the  repugnance 
which  is  excited  by  the  sight  of  pain  and  of  death.  The 
world  does  its  best  to  forget  that  we  are  exposed  to  .suffering 


*  Sec  Bridges'  Christian  Ministry,  p.  78 ;  and  Massillon's  Ninc- 
tccnlli  Sy nodical  Discourse,  On  the  Care  which  Ministers  ought  to 
take  for  the  Sick.  ' 


332  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

and  death  :  he  who  seeks  to  forget  it  was  not  intended  to  be  a 
pastor. 

As  to  danger,  it  is  said  that  "  the  good  shepherd  giveth 
his  life  for  the  sheep,"  John  x.  11;  which  teaches  us  that 
the  ministry  is  not  a  profession,  but  is,  in  intention  and  con- 
ception, a  martyrdom,  and  that  the  willing  soldier  who  every 
day  stakes  his  life  for  glory  and  advancement  on  the  field  of 
battle,  only  differs  from  the  minister,  the  true  soldier  of  the 
gospel,  in  that  he  does  not  stake  his  life,  but  gives  it. 

The  apostles  did  not  take  a  different  view  on  this  subject 
than  their  Master's,  and  we  cannot  take  a  different  view  than 
theirs.  We  must  be  able  to  say  with  St.  Paul,  ''  I  will  very 
gladly  spend  and  be  spent  for  you,"  2  Cor.  xii.  24;  ''None 
of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto 
myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with  joy,  and  the 
ministry  which  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  Acts 
XX.  24.  He  who  counts  his  life  precious  is  hardly  a  Chris- 
tion  :  how  shall  he  be  a  pastor  ? 

The  celibacy  of  the  Romish  priesthood,  other  things  being 
equal,  removes  some  of  the  bonds  which  attach  men  to  life. 
But  is  it  only  the  unmarried  who  are  called  upon  to  expose 
and  give  their  life  ?  can  the  marriage  of  the  pastor  abolish 
any  of  the  essential  conditions  of  the  pastorate  ?  The  danger 
which  may  attend  frequent  visits  to  sick  persons,  in  cases  of 
epidemic  or  contagion,  is  generally  in  the  inverse  ratio  to  the 
courage  and  devotedness  of  the  pastor.  Do  not  flee  from 
danger,  and  then  danger  will  flee  from  you. 

Is  there  any  necessity  for  us  to  visit  sick  persons  for  whose 
spiritual  state  we  have  no  apprehension  ?  These  also  need, 
us;  probably  they  desire  our  presence,  and,  if  they  do  not 
need  our  influence,  we  need  theirs. 

Be  careful  not  to  go  too  late ;  and,  in  order  to  this,  take 
means  to  gain  early  information  of  any  sickness  that  may 
arrive,  by  help  of  those  confidants  which  the  pastor  ought 


rASTOUAL    LIFE.  333 

always  to  have.  Visit  even  those  sick  persons  whose  case  is 
not,  physically,  very  serious.  It  is  exceedingly  useful  to  have 
accustomed  the  people  to  receive  our  visits  when  they  arc  ia 
good  health.  [Otherwise  the  pastor's  first  visit  may  wear 
something  of  a  sinister  aspect.] 

Shall  the  pastor  go  uninvited  ?  To  this,  different  replies 
are  given;*  wc* might  answer,  No,  if  the  members  of  the 
flock  made  it  a  positive  and  constant  duty  to  obey  the  pre- 
cept of  St.  James,  (ch.  v.  14.)  However,  in  the  present 
condition  of  things,  the  pastor  would  often,  by  so  acting,  run 
the  risk  of  never  visiting  a  single  sick  person.  lie  must 
desire  to  be  invited ;  he  must,  indeed,  exert  himself  that 
he  may  be  invited ;  but  whether  invited  or  not,  whether 
desired  or  not,  he  must  go.  There  is  a  way  of  presenting 
himself,  and  even  insisting  on  a  reception,  which  will  not 
suggest  the  idea  of  those  funereal  chai'acters  who  pounce  upon 
dying  men  as  upon  their  prey.  And,  indeed,  w'hatcvcr  pre- 
judices we  may  encounter,  how  shall  we  forbear  to  insist  on 
an  entrance  when  we  know — know  indeed  inadequately — 
how  important  the  hours  of  sickness  arc  to  the  soul^  and  how 
■  the  most  active  resistance  and  the  most  hardened  indifference 
often  conceal  the  germs  of  a  new  life  and  health,  which  arc 
only  to  be  revealed  to  the  pastor  who  hopes  even  against 
hope.  AVe  must  admit  that  the  first  visit  is  the  most  and 
often  the  only  difficult  one.  We  must  learn  how  to  combine 
importunity  with  gentleness,  not  enforcing  an  entrance  the 
first  time,  but  returning  and  repeating  the  visit  till  this  affec- 
tionate patience  touches  the  sensibility  of  those  whom  you  visit, 
and  induces  them  to  open  their  doors.  I  would  not  desire 
any  one  to  be  sustained  and  animated  by  the  desire  merely  of 
discharging  a  responsibility ;  this  is  really  a  contracted  and 
profitless  view  to  take;  only  love  is  unlimited  and  indefatigable. 

*  See  HiifFel's  Wcsen  tind  Bcnif  dcs  cvangelisch-chrisllkhcn  Oeist- 
lichcn,  vol.  ii.,  p.  318.     Third  o'lilion. 


So4  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

The  pastor  ought  not  to  omit  to  learn  of  tlic  physician  the 
state  of  the  patient;  from  his  relations  and  friends  also  he 
should  learn  his  moral  and  religious  condition.  Nevertheless, 
he  will  do  well  in  regard  to  this  second  point  not  to  be 
guided  entirely  by  any  information  from  others,  but  rather 
to  trust  to  such  observations  as  he  may  have  an  opportunity  of 
making  for  himself.  Often  he  may  be  wrongly  informed,  and 
would  act  more  judiciously  in  trusting  to  no  information  at  all. 

According  to  the  idea  which  we  have  formed  of  the  case, 
it  is  good  to  consider  the  point  of  view  in  which  we  ought 
to  place  ourselves,  and  the  course  which  it  will  be  most 
judicious  to  take ;  but  a  too  minute  preparation,  as  in  all 
cases  of  a  similar  kind,  will  be  injurious. 

Faith  and  hope  are  the  animating  soul  of  every  pastoral 
work;  but  these  dispositions,  which  have  God  for  their 
object,  have  nothing  in  common  with  those  illusions  which 
take  possession  of  those  who  combine  feebleness  of  mind  and 
strength  of  imagination.*  Before  we  have  attempted  the 
actual  duties  of  this  so  difl&cult  and  important  office,  we  may 
perhaps  expect  to  exercise  a  great  influence,  and  to  witness 
startling  results ;  especially  may  we  expect  a  great  sincerity 
on  the  part  of  the  man  who  knows  himself  to  be  standing 
on  the  brink  of  eternity ;  for  we  may  think  that  the  man 
who  lias  only  a  moment  to  live  will  have  no  inducement  to 
dissimulation.  This  is  quite  a  mistake.  We  imagine  also 
that  the  tragic  solemnity  of  these  scenes  of  death  will 
always  so  affect  us  as  to  maintain  us  at  the  elevation  suited 
to  our  office.  This  is  another  mistake.  This  office  may 
soon — sooner  than  we  think — be  discharged  with  an  incon- 
ceivable tranquillity,  and  even  with  a  wandering  and  vagrant 
tone  of  jthought.  Only  the  truth  can  last ;  let  us  form  a 
complete  conception  of  these  difficulties  and  dangers,  and,  as 

*  See  Bridges'  Christian  Ministry,  p.  140. 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  335 

wc  each  day  put  off  our  armor,  so  lot  us  each  day  equip  our- 
selves afresh. 

Endeavor  to  obtain  an  interview  with  the  sick  man  alone. 
It  is  most  difficult  to  induce  a  sick  man  to  unburden  himself 
entirely  when  in  the  presence  of  a  third  person,  althout;h 
that  third  person  may  be  one  with  whom  he  is  most  inti- 
mate. Seldom  is  this  accomplished  under  such  circum- 
stances.* Let  us  beuin  by  giving  some  indications  of 
affection.  Be  careful  to  direct  attention  to  the  design  which 
God  may  have  in  sending  the  affliction;  represent  it  as  a 
special  sahhafh;  remind  the  patient  of  the  kindness  of  God 
when,  in  the  midst  of  sickness,  he  preserves  to  us  the  use 
of  our  faculties ;  let  him  see  that  this  is  a  most  precious  and 
important  period  of  his  life.  Let  the  pastor  place  himself 
and  the  patient  in  a  right  point  of  view  as  regards  his  own 
mission ;  let  him  discard  for  himself,  and  remove  from  the 
sick  man,  every  notion  of  an  intrinsic  and  magical  virtue 
attending  the  pastor's  visit.  The  soul  of  every  man  will  be 
demanded  of  himself  individually;  and  no  one  can  either 
pray,  or  repent,  or  be  converted,  or  love  God  in  our  stead. 

For  whatever  disclosures  there  may  be  any  necessity  to 
make  on  the  part  of  the  sick  man,  the  zealous  and  skilful 
pa.stor  will  know  how,  without  difficulty,  to  prepare  the  way. 
r>ut  he  must  not  at  first  wrge  too  much;  he  must  first 
accustom  the  sick  man  to  his  visits  and  conversation.  While 
he  entertains,  and  is  not  careful  to  conceal,  a  lively  solicitude, 
he  must  neither  be  distressed  himself  nor  distressing  to  his 
patient.  In  every  sense,  our  strength  is  to  "hope  and 
quietly  wait  for  the  salvation  of  the  Lord."     Lam.  iii.  2G. 

If  the  sick  man  is  too  reserved,  or,  which  amounts  to  the 
same  thing,  if  we  obtain  from  him  only  a  complimentary 
mode  of  assent,  we  may  attempt  to  open  his  heart  by  prayer, 

*  See  Iluffel,  vol.  ii.,  p.  318. 


3oG  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

which  is  the  most  efficient  mode  of  preaching  at  the  bedside 
of  sick  persons,  and  in  which  we  may  say  every  thing  that 
is  necessary.  Nothing  can  give  lis  a  better  idea  of  all  that 
such  prayer  may  be  and  do,  than  the  admirable  prayers  of 
Pascal,  in  which  he  asks  God  for  a  sanctified  use  of  sick- 
ness.* 

We  may  add  to  prayer  the  reading  of  the  incomparably 
forcible  words  of  Scripture  :  as  the  Song  of  Hezekiah,  Isa. 
xxxviii.;  several  supplicatory  and  thanksgiving  psalms  j  the 
narratives  of  healing  by  Jesus  Christ ;  some  verses  from  the 
fifth  chapter  of  the  second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians ;  and, 
also,  we  may  read  on  less  special  topics — as,  for  instance, 
those  words  which  bring  before  the  mind's  eye  the  dawn  of 
an  endless  day,  and  distinguish  eternity  as  the  truest  wealth 
which  man  can  possess,  and  as  the  noblest  object  of  his 
aspiration. "I" 

The  knowledge  which  we  may  have  obtained,  by  observa- 
tion and  other  means,  of  the  moral  and  spiritual  state  of  the 
sick  man,  will  guide  us  in  our  prayers  and  in  the  choice  of 
passages  from  the  Scripture,  and  we  may  continue  to  act 
under  this  direction.  Formal  interrogation  is  seldom  possi- 
ble, is  generally  of  little  use,  and  rather  closes  than  opens 
the  heart. 

Nevertheless,  after  a  certain  period  of  effort  and  attention, 
it  will  be  impossible  to  maintain  the  same  course  when  we 
know  that  we  are  dealing  with  an  utterly  blinded,  hardened, 
and  impenitent  man ;  or  only  when  we  have  reason  to  feel 
greatly  pained  by  the  dispositions  manifested  by  the  patient. 
I  do  not  say  because  of  his  silence ;  for  silence,  even  the 
most  obstinate,  proves  nothing.     [After  having  employed  all 

*  Pascal's  Thoughts,  Part  II.,  Art.  xix. 

[f  Also  those  -wliich  refer  to  the  moral  uses  of  aflfliction;  e.g., 
Heb.  xii.— T.  0.  S.J 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  337 

gentle  and  insinuatinp;  methods,  wc  must  somctinios  demand 
to  be  heard  in  :i  plain,  i'rank  expression  of  our  thoughts.] 

The  true  Christian  disposition  is  that  of  calmness  wliich 
is  the  result  of  concern.  There  is  no  legitimate  calmness 
which  has  not  been  preceded  by  concern.  Therefore  wc  find, 
generally,  not  calmness  simply,  but  a  more  or"  less  sensible 
joy;  the  sweet  emerging  from  the  bitter;  in  all  cases,  an 
liumble  joy,  mingled  with  a  deep  feeling  of  unworthiness. 
It  is  a  joy  mingled  with  love  and  trembling.  In  the  case  of 
persons  in  this  state,  we  have  only  to  regard  that  which  can 
heighten  the  compunction  in  the  joy,  or  the  joy  in  the  com- 
punction— not  to  diminish  either,  but  to  temper  each  by  the 
other  :  no  general  change  of  state  is  required. 

There  is  a  form  of  Christianity  which  makes  salvation  to 
depend  on  the  assurance  of  salvation,  so  that  a  man  is  saved 
purely  and  simply  because  he  believes  himself  to  be  saved. 
Weigh  well  these  words,  as  we  ourselves  have  weighed  them.. 
They  in  no  respect  imply  a  condemnation  of  the  assurance 
of  salvation;  they  do  not  at  all  deny  its  legitimacy;  they 
allow  to  it  all  its  natural  beauty  and  truth,  the  propriety  of 
making  it  an  object  of  our  desires  and  of  our  prayers; 
further,  they  do  not  forbid  our  regarding  an  assurance  of 
salvation  as  the  completion,  the  consummation,  the  perfection 
of  faith.  But  the  assurance  of  salvation,  considered  in 
itself,  is  "  the  Spirit  itself  bearing  witness  with  our  spirit 
tlKit  wc  are  the  children  of  Cod."  Horn.  viii.  16.-  No 
other  witness  than  this  is  sufficient  and  valuable;  and  to 
substitute  for  it  a  simple  process  of  reasoning,  a  syllogism,  is 
to  entrench  upon  his  rights.  In  other  words,  this  witness  is 
within ;  it  is  as  interior  and  as  irresistible  as  the  feeling  of 
life.  This  perfection  of  faith  is  of  the  same  nature  as  faith, 
which  is  the  sub.stance  or  the  appropriation  of  gospel  wealth 
— a  grace  which  is  as  mysterious  in  its  commencement  as  in 


338  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

its  consummation,  and  of  which  a  purely  intellectual  faitli — 
a  purely  logical  assurance  of  salvation — is  only  the  empty 
counterfeit.  We  are  not  saved  because  we  are  certain  that 
we  shall  be  saved.  The  terms  must  be  reversed ;  this  is 
demanded  by  logic  itself,  and  by  all  analogy;  this  is  not  a 
sphere  into  which  the  reasoning  which  we  oppose  can  be 
admitted  by  any  one  possessing  common  sense.  Why  should 
this  reasoning  be  valid  here  and  here,  only  when  it  is  vicious 
everywhere  else  ? 

This  doctrine,  by  which  alone  it  has  been  thought  that  all 
the  honor  of  salvation  can  be  given  to  God  and  none  to 
man,  has,  on  the  contrary,  a  tendency  to  make  salvation 
depend  on  a  work,  and  I  may  say  on  a  very  servile  work, 
since,  in  the  rigor  of  the  dogma  in  question,  there  is  not  a 
particle  of  affection — no  truly  religious  element  enters  into 
this  work.  This  doctrine,  which  is  preached  for  the  most 
part  by  pious  men,  finds  ready  access,  not  only  into  humble 
hearts  who  confound  it  with  the  implicit  submission  of  faith, 
but  also  into  arid  and  mercenary  souls,  whom  it  does  not 
disturb  or  interrupt  in  their  interior  habits ;  and  as  it  forbids 
man  to  regard  his  feelings,  still  less  his  work,  in  order  to 
"  know  that  we  are  of  the  truth,  and  assure  our  hearts 
before  God,"  (1  John  iii.  19,)  it  will  very  soon  annul,  with- 
out formal  denial,  every  part  of  the  gospel  which  tends  to 
the  government  of  the  heart  and  the  reform  of  the  life.  I 
am  speaking  of  some  souls,  not  of  all ;  for  a  large  number 
of  those  who  believe  that  they  rest  their  assurance  on  the 
simple  and  naked  acceptance  of  the  gospel,  do  in  fact  rest  it, 
although  they  know  it  not,  on  the  testimony  of  the  Spirit, 
who,  by  his  presence  and  action  within  them,  testifies  to 
them  with  an  irresistible  force  that  Christ  abides  in  them, 
and  that  they  abide  in  him.  It  is  painful  to  have  to  prepare 
for  death  the  partisans  of  this  false  and  dangerous  assurance 
of  salvation,  w^hich  is  the  denial,  not  precisely  of  faith,  but 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  339 

of  all  that  is  the  true  substance  and  the  true  object  of  faith; 
it  is  painful  to  lead  tliem  down  from  this  mountain  of  exalta- 
tion to  a  valley  of  humiliation,  from  peace  to  trouble,  and  to 
begin,  in  the  short  and  agitated  moments  of  a  sick  man's 
life,  when  he  is  at  the  very  portals  of  eternity,  the  entire 
education  of  a  soul  that  is  confidently  entrenched  within  its 
error.  This  is  still  more  painful,  inasmuch  as  we  can  little 
hope  to  see  breaking  from  the  fire  of  rebuke  and  terror,  one 
of  those  conversions  of  the  heart  which  are  ordinarily  pro- 
duced gradually,  and  in  very  different  circumstances  from 
those  of  a  death-bed.  Can  we,  however,  hesitate "/  If  there 
is  only  one  in  ten  thousand  chances  of  restoring  this  man  to 
the  true  conditions  of  saving  faith,  shall  we  allow  ourselves 
to  neglect  this  one  chance  5*  Must  we  hesitate  to  agitate 
this  soul,  and  even  to  agitate  it  deeply,  in  order  to  give  it  a 
true  instead  of  a  false  tranquillity  ? 

There  is  a  tranquillity  of  another  kind  resulting  in  the 
sick  man  from  a  persuasion  of  his  own  righteousness.  And 
what  righteousness!  Often  it  is  hardly  the  most  vulgar 
honesty.  Must  we  expect  to  find  this  in  those  who  have 
been  educated  in  Christianity,  and  profess  it?  Nothing  is 
more  strange,  and  yet  nothing  is  more  common.  Not  less 
strange  is  it  to  see  persons  who  call  themselves  Christians, 
and  who  believe  that  they  are  what  they  profess  to  be,  but 
who,  less  convinced  than  the  former  of  their  own  righteous- 
ness, take  refuge  in  the  vague  idea  of  the  mercy  of  God, 
who,  in  their  opinion,  is  too  kind  to  take  a  very  strict  notice 
of  their  failings,  and  who  has  many  other  and  worthier 
things  to  attend  to.  You  may  meet  with  philosophers  who 
arc  accustomed  to  the  idea  of  death,  and  have  succeeded  in 
fronting  it  calmly,  and  whose  minds,  fortified  by  more  or  less 
intelligible  sophisms,  seem  impenetrable  to  tlie  most  forcible 
reasonings.  With  others,  again,  in  whom  an  exclusively 
material  activity  and  the  habit  of  entertaining  exclusively 


340  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

vulgar  thoughts  has  extinguished  the  moral  life,  or  whom 
vice  has  hardened  or  imbruted,  we  cannot  find  any  spiritual 
sensibility  whatever. 

There  are  a  thousand  occasions  when  appearances  would 
seem  to  discourage  every  attempt  as  too  evidently  useless; 
but  there  are  also  a  thousand  facts  which  show  that  we  can- 
not define  the  limits  beyond  which  resources  are  absolutely 
wanting,  and  in  which  every  access  for  the  preacher  of  the 
gospel  is  closed.  We  must  then  urge  and  persevere  to  the 
end;  at  the  end  we  very  often  find  a  reception  has  been 
awaiting  us. 

We  know  that  God  can  give  to  one  moment  the  value  of  a 
life,  as  in  the  case  of  the  penitent  thief  on  the  cross.*  And 
although  we  have  every  reason  to  think  that  the  case  is  a 
very  rare  one,  and  that  in  general  we  must  not  rely  very 
much  on  conversions  which  have  been  effected  on  a  death- 
bed, yet  the  sole  possibility,  joined  to  the  great  danger, 
makes  it  a  sacred  duty  for  us  to  labor  for  the  conversion  of 
the  sick,  with  all  the  resources  which  are  at  the  command 
of  our  heart  and  spirit.  Spera,  quia  unus ;  time,  quia 
solus.  [Hope,  for  there  is  one  recorded  instance ;  fear,  for 
there  is  only  one.] 

Moreover,  this  impassibility  or  security  is  often  only 
affected ;  it  is  a  husk  which  cannot  long  remain.  We  must 
not  then  be  deceived  by  it. 

Neither  must  we  be  deceived  by  the  facility  which  we 
sometimes  find  in  our  efforts.     There  are  persons  whom  we 

[*  This  position  is  ambiguous  and  unguarded,  and  tlic  case 
adduced  is  not  in  point.  See  note  on  pp.  130-133,  and  Bishop  Sher- 
lock's sermon  on  Matt,  xxvii.  38.  For  extreme  views  on  the 
"invalidity  of  a  dcatli-bcd  repentance,"  see  Jeremy  Taylor's  sermon 
with  this  title.  Dr.  South,  in  his  sermon  on  E,ev.  ii.  10,  discusses 
the  validity  of  a  dcath-bcd  repentance  at  considerable  length. 
— T.  0.  S.] 


TASTORAL    LIFE.  341 

would  wish  to  be  less  precipitate  in  yielding  to  our  persua- 
sions ;  if  there  was  greater  resistance,  wc  might  believe  them 
to  be  more  serious.  The  docility  which  yields  in  dot'erenco 
to  us,  through  mere  prejudice,  is  quite  different  from  the  re- 
flective and  voluntary  docility  of  a  conscience  which  submits 
to  the  truth. 

We  must  expect  to  meet  with  many  troubled  souls.  There 
are  those  (and  perhaps  this  is  the  most  difficult  case)  who, 
having  hitherto  believed  with  an  intellectual  faith,  imagine 
that  they  believe,  and  suddenly  perceive  that  they  do  not ; 
who  now  see  only  a  great  void  in  the  place  of  those  objects 
of  their  presumed  faith  which  formerly  hovered  like  phan- 
toms before  them ;  who,  having  given  a  superficial  and  pass- 
ing regard  to  all  truths,  and  having  been  accustomed  to  all 
the  phrases  of  religion,  no  longer  receive  any  impression 
when  they  need  to  make  the  fullest  use  of  them ;  who,  in  a 
word,  find  at  the  last  hour,  instead  of  a  living  faith,  only  a 
dead  system.  They  are  in  a  worse  condition  than  if  they 
had  never  known  the  truth.  There  arc  others,  in  whouT  re- 
morse is  stronger  than  the  promises  of  grace.  There  arc 
others,  who,  without  being  absolutely  destitute  of  faith,  and 
without  fearing  the  judgments  of  God,  yet  fear  the  crisis  of 
death  itself;  this  is  in  a  great  measure  a  physical  fear,  greater 
in  some  men  than  in  others,  by  which  even  believers  arc 
sometimes  oppressed.  In  general,  we  shall  find  more  natural 
case  in  dying  among  persons  of  small  culture  who  have  lived 
a  life  of  toil,  than  among  learned  men,  thinkers,  and  persons 
of  very  cultivated  mind.  [The  poor  man  has  passed  his  life 
only  to  die  J  his  feeble  imagination  sees  death  in  its  negative 
aspect  alone.]  Lastly,  the  feeling  of  some  reparation  wbich 
hsis  been  neglected,  and  which  it  is  diflBcult,  if  not  imjiossi- 
blc,  to  accomplish,  may  agitate  the  spirit;  or  some  temporal 
scheme,  some  domestic  care,  may  deprive  the  mind  of  calm- 
ucss  and  liberty. 


342  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

Anxiety  carried  to  its  iiltimate  extreme  is  despair — a  posi' 
tioa  at  which  two  very  different  classes  of  persons  may 
arrive :  those  who  have  rejected  or  neglected  the  means  of 
salvation  as  long  as  they  were  presented;  and  men  who, 
having  acted  in  exactly  the  opposite  manner,  and  having  per- 
formed, as  it  seems  to  them,  every  thing  necessary  to  assure 
their  peace,  see  the  whole  structure  of  their  faith  crumble 
like  a  fantastic  edifice  before  their  eyes,  and  are  ready  to  ask 
whether  all  this  life  which  appeared  so  real,  so  interior,  so 
serious,  which  they  found  in  religion,  is  indeed  only  a  dream, 
and  whether  Christianity,  which  has  a  historical  position, 
has  aught  else  than  a  historical  reality.  There  are  also  those 
who,  without  at  all  losing  their  conviction,  find,  in  a  sudden 
and  profound  despair,  the  punishment  of  that  spiritual  pride 
to  which  they  had  abandoned  themselves.  This  mysterious 
trial — despair — has  been  more  than  once  suffered  to  invade 
the  most  humble  and  pious  believer ;  but  we  do  not  believe 
it  is  ever  prolonged  in  such  cases  to  the  last  moment :  such 
men  die  happily,  and  the  light  which  illumines  their  last  mo- 
ments removes  the  scandal  which  may  have  been  caused  to 
the  witnesses  of  their  unexpected  gloom.  Without  pretend- 
ing to  pierce  through  the  mystery  of  this  dispensation,  wo 
will  observe  that  in  every  man  the  work  of  conversion  is 
composed  of  the  same  elements,  the  relative  proportion  of 
which  is  invariable,  but  the  distribution  may  differ.  When 
we  sum  up  the  whole,  we  must  be  assured  that  the  reckoning 
is  fairly  made,  and  that  every  part  is  included.  That  which 
does  not  appear  at  first,  yet  arrives  afterwards;  in  the  case 
of  many,  joy  precedes  bitterness;  the  order  is  reversed,  but 
they  must  "fulfil  all  righteousness;"  and  he  who  has  too 
easily  accepted  the  promises  must,  sooner  or  later,  pay  the 
same  price  which  has  been  exacted  from  those  who  have  been 
unable  to  appropriate  to  themselves  pardon  before  they  have 
tasted  condemnation  ;  they  must  pass  three  days  in  the  tomb, 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  343 

anil  descond  into  hades ;  the  true  resurrection  is  to  be  had 
only  at  this  price — the  only  variation  is  in  the  date  of  the 
payment. 

The  duty  of  dissipating  a  false  peace  is  not  the  most  diffi- 
cult, but  it  is  the  most  formidable  duty  we  can  undertake, 
and,  unless  a  man  is  armed  by  a  hard  fonaticism,  he  must  be 
strongly  protected  by  the  armor  of  faith  and  love,  he  must 
be  continually  defended  against  his  own  feebleness,  in  order 
that  he  may  be  able  to  accomplish  so  painful  a  task — painful, 
indeed,  since  its  very  success  is  terrible,  and  he  is  equally 
fearful,  whether  he  produces  anxiety  or  not.  It  will  be  right 
to  refute  the  errors  of  the  suflcrer  as  far  as  possible ;  but  wo 
should  be  especially  thankful  if  God  permits  us  to  present 
the  entire  gospel  before  the  soul,  and  to  give  a  combined 
view  of  all  its  elements,  so  that  the  aspect  of  terror  may  not 
be  seen  separated  from  the  aspect  of  consolation,  nor  the 
side  which  beams  forth  hope  apart  from  that  which  utters 
wrath.  The  necessity  and  assurance  of  pardon ;  the  neces- 
sity and  blessings  of  repentance;  the  entire,  free,  irrevocable 
salvation,  but  the  renunciation  of  all  other  means  of  safety; 
prayer,  which  opens  heaven  to  the  sinner,  but  to  the  sinner 
who  prays  as  a  sinner;  the  certainty  of  assistance  for  every 
one  who  perseveringly  asks  for  it :  such  are  the  ideas  which, 
always  combined  with  one  another,  are  able  to  impress  with- 
out irritating,  and  with  which,  when  they  are  never  isolated 
from  the  truths  which  are  related  to  them,  we  may  be  frank, 
inflexible,  and  yet  impressive.  Sometimes  we  must  use  a 
holy  violence,  and  snatch,  as  from  the  midst  of  a  furnace,  a 
brand  which  is  being  consumed  before  our  eyes ;  harshness 
will  perhaps  then  be  the  only  legitimate  form  of  charity; 
but  the  true  pastor  will  seldom  find  himself  reduced  to  this 
sad  necessity,  and  ho  will  doubtless  prefer  to  exhaust  all 
means  before  he  has  recourse  to  this.  And  in  all  cases  the 
last  moment  is  not  a  time  for  imperious  exhortations  and 


344  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

threatenings.  A  dying  man,  if  he  can  listen  to  us,  ought  to 
hear  only  words  full  of  unction  :  prayei'S  to  Grod,  full  of  irre- 
sistible tenderness  ;  supplications  to  himself,  that  he  will  be  re- 
conciled to  God ;  supplications  to  God,  that  he  will  condescend 
to  be  reconciled  to  his  creature  who  is  just  leaving  earth; 
lastly,  expressions  of  fervent  desire  and  charitable  hope.  If  the 
spirit  is  softened,  if  tears  and  supplications  abound,  be  con- 
tent ;  do  not  expect  a  further  blessing ;  do  not  either  ask  for 
or  expect  joy;  the  soul  which  renounces  itself,  which  aban- 
dons itself,  which  cries  to  God,  which  addresses  itself  to  him 
as  to  an  offended  father,  but  yet  a  father,  may  not  taste  the 
joys  of  salvation  on  this  side  the  tomb ;  but  let  the  pastor 
assure  himself  that  the  joy  will  come;  let  him  rejoice  for 
this  mourner,  for  he  shall  be  comforted. 

Let  us  pass  to  the  case  in  which  we  find  the  spirit  already 
anxious. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  either  the  fact  or  the  cause 
of  anxiety  will  be  at  once  admitted.  It  will  often  be  the 
pastor's  duty  to  induce  the  suiferer  to  say  this,  or  even  to 
suggest  it  himself  to  the  sick  man,  who  may  possibly  expe- 
rience an  effect  without  being  able  to  discern  the  cause.  And 
how  often,  when  he  can  discern  it  without  difficulty,  is  he 
unable  to  resolve  upon  disclosing  it  to  the  patient !  How- 
ever, this  discernment  is  as  important  as  it  is  difficult,  and 
efforts  which  are  directed  to  another  part  than  that  which  is 
really  affected,  may,  by  missing  the  true  aim,  aggravate  the 
evil.  Happily,  the  gospel  is  sufficient  for  all,  because  it  cor- 
responds to  all,  and  because  we  cannot  present  it  in  its  entire 
scope,  and  in  the  admirable  commingling  of  diverse  elements 
which  distinguishes  it,  without  applying  a  healing  balm  to 
the  wound  which  is  unseen.  This  consolation  we  may  take 
to  ourselves  in  cases  in  which  anxiety  is  exhibited  while  the 
cause  cannot  be  distinctly  seen.  But  we  must  earnestly  en- 
deavor to  learn  that  cause,  since  then,  without  refusing  to 


rASTORAL    LIFE.  345 

present  truth  in  its  entire  scope,  we  may  make  a  more  just, 
direct,  and  personal  application  of  it.  To  describe  the  man- 
ner in  which  we  must  apply  the  remedy  to  each  particular 
anxiety,  according  to  its  nature  and  cause,  would  be  to  enter 
into  infinitely  varied  details :  some  writers  have  attempted 
tills ;  but  it  appears  to  me  that  very  special  directions,  which 
at  the  outset  place  a  clog  on  our  liberty,  and  deprive  our 
movements  of  that  character  of  spontaneity  and  inspiration 
which  they  ought  to  have,  are  generally  rather  hurtful  than 
helpful.  The  most  important,  and  perhaps  the  sufficient 
point,  is  to  take  carefully  into  consideration  the  actual  con- 
dition of  the  patient  and  the  essential  nature  of  the  feelings 
which  he  experiences ;  when  this  point  is  gained,  the  rest 
may  be  left  to  our  own  gospel  illumination,  our  charity,  our 
presence  of  mind,  our  tact,  and  to  the  Divine  Spirit,  who  is 
constrained  by  our  prayers,  if  I  may  dare  to  say  so,  to  assist 
as  a  third  party,  and  as  the  interpreter  between  ourselves 
and  the  sufferer.  The  narrative  of  experiences  which  have 
occurred  to  ministers  in  this  mournful  enterprise,  is  far  more 
valuable  than  any  set  of  <l  liriori  prescriptions. 

The  anxiety  which  may  be  experienced  at  the  last  hour  by 
a  soul  hitherto  indifferent,  can  with  difficulty  be  judged  : 
this  is  a  region  of  mystery.  It  is  only  too  certain  that  re- 
morse is  not  repentance,  that  terror  is  not  conversion,  that 
the  fear  of  death  is  not  the  fear  of  God.  There  are,  it  is 
said,  souls  who  feel  with  despair  that  the  principle  of  spirit- 
ual life  is  extinguished  in  them,  and  who  assure  themselves 
with  a  fearful  certainty  that  there  is  no  longer  any  power  in 
their  nature  which  can  be  a  source  of  love  and  supplication  : 
faith  comes  at  the  last  moment,  but  it  is  the  faith  of  demons, 
resplendcntly  clear,  but  with  the  clearness  of  the  destructive 
lightning  flash.  God  alone  knows  whether  such  a  soul  is 
really  dead;  you,  M'ho  do  not  know,  struggle  with  it,  exhaust 
every  endeavor,  enter  into  its  conflicts,  sympathize  with  its 


346  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

anguish ;  let  it  be  sensible  that  there  is  by  its  side,  during 
its  last  moments,  a  soul  which  believes,  hopes,  and  loves ;  let 
your  love  be  a  reflection  and  revelation  of  the  love  of  Jesus 
Christ  J  let  Christ  become  present  to  the  sufferer  through 
you ;  give  him  some  hint,  some  gleam,  some  taste  of  the 
Divine  mercy ;  let  him  be,  as  it  were,  forced  to  believe  in  it 
by  seeing  its  reflection  in  you ;  hope  against  all  hope ;  strive 
with  God  even  to  the  last  moment ;  let  the  voice  of  your 
prayer,  the  echo  of  Christ's  words,  sound  in  the  ears  of  the 
dying  man  as  long  as  one  glimmer  of  reason  remains.  You 
know  not  what  may  be  passing  in  that  interior  world  into 
which  your  eye  cannot  penetrate,  nor  by  what  mystery  eter- 
nity may  be  suspended  on  a  moment,  and  salvation  on  a  sigh. 
You  know  not  the  value  of  the  real  virtue  of  a  single  con- 
vulsive movement  of  the  soul  towards  Grod,  even  at  the  last 
limit  of  earthly  existence.  Therefore  leave  nothing  untried; 
pray  aloud  with  the  dying  man ;  pray  secretly  with  yourself 
for  him ;  cease  not  to  direct  his  soul  to  his  Creator ;  become 
to  him  a  priest  when  you  can  no  longer  be  a  preacher.  Let 
this  duty  of  intercession,  the  most  efficacious  of  all,  precede, 
accompany,  and  follow  all  others. 

Let  us  now,  without  distinguishing  between  difi'erent  cases, 
add  some  general  directions  relative  to  the  spiritual  treat- 
ment of  sick  persons. 

The  first  is,  to  do  all  in  our  power  to  remove  and  rectify 
the  conception  that  our  ministry  can  carry  a  man  to  heaven 
without  the  concurrence  of  his  own  will. 

The  second  is,  not  to  expect  much  efibrt,  not  to  discourse 
at  too  great  a  length,  not  to  engage  in  complicated  reasonings, 
but  to  speak  directly  to  the  conscience  with  heartiness,  sin- 
cerity, and  authority.* 

*  Fraktische  Bemerkungen,  p.  79. 


I'ASTORAL     LIFE.  347 

A  third  is,  to  identify  ourselves  with  thom,  without  too 
much  personal  I'efcrence,  in  our  exhortations  and  instructions; 
to  occupy  the  same  level  with  those  whom  we  seek  to  console ; 
to  show  them  in  ourselves  a  sinner  helping  his  fellow-sinner ; 
to  relate  to  thom,  as  for  as  may  be,  the  history  of  our  own 
soul ;  in  one  word,  to  reason  with  them,  not  from  an  eleva- 
tion, but  on  the  same  plane  with  them.  This  will  in  no  de- 
gree compromise  our  authority. 

AVc  cannot  too  strongly  recommend  patience  and  indul- 
gence ;  we  must  not  rudely  dash  to  the  ground  even  their 
most  serious  errors  and  illusions ;  we  may  appear  surprised, 
afflicted,  never  indignant :  let  us  not  forget  that  if,  in  the 
general  strain  of  preaching,  fear  may  have  a  salutary  effect, 
and  ought  to  be  employed  on  men  who  are  in  good  health, 
and  who  do  not  think  themselves  to  be  near  unto  death ;  if, 
gven  on  the  bed  of  death,  we  must  awaken  in  indifferent 
souls  a  serious  concern  for  their  eternal  welfare,  yet  that 
terror  is  unproductive,  and  we  cannot  anticipate  the  effects 
which  it  may  produce.*  Let  us  never  forget  that  we  arc 
the  heralds  of  good  news ;  that  these  good  news  are  suffi- 
cient for  all,  because  they  embrace  all ;  that  it  chastens  even 
while  it  consoles ;  that  it  is,  so  to  speak,  a  tonic  as  well  as  a 
sedative  to  the  spirit ;  lastly,  that  the  duty  of  the  pastor, 
with  regard  to  the  sick,  as  well  as  to  all  other  men,  is  ox- 
pressed  in  the  words  of  the  prophet,  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort 
ye  my  people  ;  speak  ye  comfortably  unto  Jerusalem."  Isa. 
xl.  1,  2. 

Expect  much  from  prayer :  I  mean  not  only  from  its 
power  with  God,  but  from  its  immediate  effect  on  the  patient. 
In  prayer  we  can  say  every  thing;  under  this  form  we  can 
express  whatever  we  wish  to  convey ;  with  it  we  can  cause 
the  most  obdurate  heart  to  open.     There  is  a  true  charm  in 

*  Praklische  Bemerkungcn,  p.  83. 


348  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

prayer ;  and  this  charm  operates  also  upon  us,  rendering  us 
at  once  stronger,  more  gentle  and  more  patient,  giving  us  a 
living  sympathy  with  the  sick  man,  whosoever  he  may  be, 
since  God  is  present  to  both. 

Do  not  formally  announce  the  approach  of  death,  unless, 
in  your  judgment,  it  appears  the  last  and  only  method  of 
inducing  a  sinner  to  consider  his  own  inner  state ;  for  wc 
may  much  more  confidently  rely  on  the  reality  and  durability 
of  the  work  that  is  accomplished  in  calmness,  than  of  that 
which  is  performed  during  the  disturbed  state  of  feeling 
which  is  caused  by  the  unexpected  approach  of  death.  Wc 
must,  however,  know  how  to  declare  to  a  man,  not  only  as  a 
man,  but  as  an  individual,  all  the  iniquity  and  all  the  danger 
of  his  ways.  If  there  is  some  notorious  sin  that  he  has 
been  guilty  of,  dwell  on  that;  charity  is  sometimes  trans- 
formed into  harshness,  in  order  that  its  true  nature  may  bf 
preserved.  But,  I  repeat,  the  last  moments  of  life  are  not 
suitable  to  imperious  exhortations  and  threatenings.  We 
must  then  commit  all  to  God  in  prayerful  earnestness  and 
tenderness.* 

The  Lord's  Supper  should  only  be  given  to  sick  persons 
when  it  is  desired ;  and  then  it  must  be  so  administered  that 
no  superstition  may  mingle  with  the  desire.  This  desire 
ought  to  rejoice  us,  and  we  should  eagerly  gratify  it  if  we 
are  satisfied  that  it  is  of  a  spiritual  character. ■!■  However, 
we  must  take  this  opportunity  to  insist  on  all  necessary  and 
possible  amendment;  and  this  should  be  done  even  though 
such  an  opportunity  does  not  present  itself.  It  is  proper 
that  others  should,  if  they  are  so  disposed,  partake  of  the 
Communion  Supper  with  the  sick  man. 

If  it  is  desirable,  at  first,  to  have  an  interview  with  the 

*  Roster's  Lehrhuch  cicr  Fastorahvisscnschofl,  p.  134. 
t  Ibid,  pp.  134,  135. 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  349 

sick  man  alone,  it  is  also  desirable,  in  more  than  one  respect, 
to  invite  and  retain  the  members  of  his  faniil}'^,  at  least  those 
who  are  most  intimate  with  him,  to  conversations  which  wo 
may  have  with  him ;  in  the  first  place,  in  order  to  inspire 
them  with  confidence,  and,  secondly,  in  order  that  they  also 
may  gain  advantage  from  our  visit. 

Avoid  interference,  as  far  as  possible,  in  testamentary 
arrangements ;  do  not  be  a  party  to  any  revision  of  the  will 
that  may  be  desired — without,  however,  refusing  advice  in 
this  matter  to  those  who  are  in  a  troubled,  or  ill-informed,  or 
incompetent  state  of  mind.  lie  ready  to  aid  by  your 
ministry  in  such  restitution  as  may  be  necessary  for  the 
repose  of  the  sick  man's  conscience,  and  which,  perhaps,  can 
be  accomplished  by  you  alone. 

Do  not  abandon  cither  the  relations  after  the  death  of  the 
sick  man,  or  the  sufferer  during  his  convalescence.* 

])eath  oi'ten  introduces  into  a  family  at  once  the  truth,  and 
the  preacher,  who  is  the  interpreter  of  truth.  To  the  sur- 
vivors there  is  certainly  as  much  attention  due  as  to  the 
dead.  In  many  cases  we  must  be  prepared  for  a  difficult 
task.  There  is  a  foolish  kind  of  grief;  there  is  also  a  con- 
solation which  is  not  "less  unreal  and  unwise.  You  will  find 
bereaved  persons  offer  a  kind  of  worship  to  the  object  of 
their  mourning,  and  attempt  to  engage  you  in  their  pane- 
gyrics and  admiration ;  they  will  praise,  in  your  presence, 
things  which,  if  not  blamable,  have  yet  no  moral  value, 
excuse  what  is  inexcusable,  construct  maxims  of  morality 
and  religion  according  to  the  unthinking  impulses  of  their 
affection,  and  so  as  to  square  with  their  wishes  for  the  soul 
of  the  deceased.  They  will  extemporize  heretical  opinions 
for  his  advantage,  or  press  you  importunately  with  questions 


*  Sec  BritlgcH'  Christian  Ministry,  p.  424,  and  F.urnct's  Discourse 
of  the  Pastoral  Cure. 


350  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

as  to  his  state,  and  entreat  of  you  a  sentence  of  acquittal, 
even  in  cases  when  it  is  most  difficult  to  pronounce  it;  and 
this  must  never  be  allowed.  We  need  never  forget  that 
grief  has  a  claim  on  our  respect,  but  let  us  still  more  care- 
fully remember  that  truth  has  anterior  and  higher  claims; 
and  while  we  express  such  hope  as  we  may  reasonably  enter- 
tain, we  must  be  ready,  if  needs  be,  to  take  refuge  in  the 
fact  of  our  ignorance  of  the  Divine  purposes  and  the  details 
of  the  invisible  world ;  we  have  no  right  to  condemn  any 
one,  but  neither  can  we,  on  our  own  authority,  guarantee 
future  bliss  to  any  one. 

When  grief  and  regret  appear  only  in  the  form  of  detach- 
ment from  the  visible  world,  and  in  those  aspirations  after 
the  world  to  come  which  are  often  manifested  by  the 
bereaved,  it  is  important  to  correct  their  ideas,  to  give 
another  direction  to  their  thoughts,  to  discourage,  if  we  can, 
the  tendency  to  turn  grief  into  religion  and  its  object  into  a 
deity :  we  must  induce  them  to  give  to  the  God  of  heaven 
that  place  which  they  are  giving  to  a  creature. 

There  are  few  things  more  painful  and  embarrassing  than 
the  necessity  of  offering  consolation  or  condolence  to  indi- 
viduals or  to  families  who  have  no  interest  in  the  gospel. 
What  can  be  said  to  them  ?  Must  we  speak  to  them  accord- 
ing to  the  wishes  of  their  own  heart?  give  them  a  worldly 
consolation  ?  Impossible  !  Shall  we  abandon  them  ?  This 
is  as  impossible.  Shall  we  preach  the  gospel  to  them  ?  Yea, 
truly,  this  is  our  duty — to  preach,  or  rather  to  declare  the 
gospel.  After  having,  with  full  and  generous  heart,  sympa- 
thized with  their  grief,  listened  to  their  complaints,  shown 
our  sincere  sympathy,  appreciated  the  reality  of  their  mis- 
fortune, whatever  may  be  its  character,  we  must,  so  to  speak, 
use  their  calamity  as  a  motto,  arm  ourselves  with  it  against 
them,  enable  them  to  feel  the  worthlessness  of  all  human 
consolation,  and  the  necessity  of  seeking  for  some  solid  com- 


TASTORAL     LIFE.*  351 

fort  beyond  tlic  world  and  time,  clearly  exhibiting  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  healer  of  their  miseries  and  our  own.  Wc 
must  not  premeditate  too  much  what  is  to  be  said  and  done 
on  these  occasions.  The  best  meditation  is  that  suggested 
by  their  misfortune ;  the  best  preparation  is  a  sincere  and 
abundant  pity.  Let  us  approach  them  with  tears,  and  yet 
with  joy — with  the  joy  of  that  consolation  the  secret  of 
which  is  ours;  let  us  go  with  God  himself,  with  the  certainty 
that  he  will  be  with  us  and  with  them.  This  confidence, 
this  freedom  is  the  first  of  all  aids  and  the  first  of  all  lights 
in  every  difficult  undertaking. 

2.  Mental  maladies. — The  cases  to  which  we  now  allude 
are  not  to  be  confounded  with  those  whose  spirits  arc 
troflblcd  with  spiritual  anxiety,  of  whom  we  have  already 
spoken,  (page  814.)  Here  we  have  to  do  principally,  if  not 
exclusively,  with  disease.  If  we,  however,  believe  that  the 
minister  can  (in  conjunction  with  the  physician)  be  of  any 
avail,  it  is  because  moral  means  may  act  powerfully  on  a 
moral  disease,  whose  cause  is  yet  physical.  The  action  of 
the  physical  on  the  moral  part  of  our  nature  is  as  indis- 
putable, as  conceivable,  and  probably  as  powerful  as  that  of 
the  physical  on  the  moral.*  It  is  therefore  important  to 
have  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  idea  which  has  occa- 
sioned or  fostered  the  disease ;  for  it  is  not  probable,  gene- 
rally speaking,  that  the  patient  has  created  it  for  himself; 
and  perhaps  all  that  he  does  is  to  brood  over  and  push  to  its 
extreme  some  secret   principle  of  moral  evil.     This  is  the 

*  The  m^x\m,  principiis  obsla — confront  evil  at  the  outset — is,  iu 
such  cases,  of  especial  importance.  The  torrent  of  anxious  thoughts 
gains  in  force  and  rapidity  as  it  advances.  And  it  is  a  great  point 
gained  when  we  can  arrive  in  time  to  avert  and  check  the  singular 
complacency  with  which  the  patient  broods  over  his-gloomj'  tlioughta. 


352  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY, 

clement  that  we  must  most  tliorouglily  investigate ;  and  this 
is  not  always  easy,  since  reserve  and  dissimulation  are  far 
from  being  incompatible  with  situations  which  would  seem 
calculated  to  release  the  individual  from  all  restraint.  We 
may  not  advise  the  pastor  to  "  answer  the  fool  according  to  his 
folly;"  (Prov.  xxvi.  5;)  but  we  may  advise  him  not  to  con- 
front too  impetuously  the  melancholy  notions  which  he  may 
find  :  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  formal  reasoning 
with  men  who  continually  reproduce  their  fixed  ideas  with 
an  obstinate  and  fatal  pertinacity,  will  be  generally  labor 
thrown  away,  or  worse.  Manifestations  of  affection,  passages 
of  Scripture,  prayer,  when  the  sufferer  will  join  in  it  or 
allow  it,  and,  lastly,  a  skilful  kindness  in  engaging  the 
patient  in  such  conversation  as  may  interest  and  amuse  him 
without  defeating  the  principal  end  which  we  have  in  view 
— these  are  means  which  may  succeed  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent  while  we  are  waiting  until  God  shall  give  some,  as 
yet  unknown,  opportunity  for  us  to  unsettle  this  fixed  idea, 
which,  as  it  is  produced  by  a  physical  malady,  does  also 
aggravate  and  perpetuate  the  cause  of  its  existence.  The 
disease  itself  sometimes  suggests  weapons  by  which  it  may 
be  opposed,  and  which  may  be  exceedingly  powerful  when 
used  prudently  and  discreetly. 

Sometimes  these  same  ideas  have  caused  the  malady;  the 
moral  has  become  a  physical  disease,  a  malady,  properly  so 
called  :  on  this  point  we  must  assure  ourselves.  In  this  case 
there  are  very  ready  resources  for  the  well-informed  and 
enlightened  pastor,  and  he  may  place  more  confidence  in  the 
use  of  his  reasoning  faculties.  But,  without  excluding  this 
kind  of  agency,  I  would  join  and  subordinate  to  it  the  use 
of  the  word  of  God,  employed  with  discretion,  and  rather 
with  a  design  to  console  than  to  convince.  "We  must  con- 
sider that  with  persons  in  this  state,  especially  if  they  have 


PASTORAL     LIFE.  353 

minds  naturally  acute  and  subtile,  reasoning,  if  it  does  not 
persuade,  confirms,  and  docs  in  some  sort  fetter  the  sufferer 
to  his  disease,  and  thus  aggravates  his  distress  of  mind. 
When  we  meet  with  minds  which  arc  disturbed  through  the 
effect  or  by  occasion  of  religious  ideas,  we  must  remember 
that  the  most  wholesome  and  necessary  truths  may  cause 
great  distress  when  they  are  too  suddenly  acquired,  or  when 
the  individual  whom  they  have  exclusively  possessed  is  not 
in  a  state  prepared  to  receive  them.  When  this  kind  of 
mental  disturbance  is  caused  by  an  unexpected  view  of  truth — 
a  shock,  so  to  speak — we  maybe  assured  that  it  will  not  be  of 
long  duration.  AVc  may  even,  in  certain  cases,  regard  it 
and  represent  it  to  the  sufferer  himself  as  an  inevitable 
crisis,  a  passage  towards  that  fixed  peace  which  ought  to  be 
inseparable  from  virtue.  This  ought  also  to  admonish  us,  as 
ministers,  that,  in  the  faithful  and  complete  dispensations  of 
truth,  there  is  a  precautionary  economy  to  be  observed, 
without  which  truth  maj^,  in  many  cases,  produce  the  effect 
of  error. 

We  arc  quite  indisposed  to  believe  that  the  spiritual  assist- 
ance of  ministers  is  useless  in  the  case  of  those  whose 
mental  distress  has  issued  in  complete  madness.  Doubtless, 
with  these,  reasoning  is  especially  useless  and  even  dangerous. 
But  I  think,  with  Harms,  that  it  is  useful  to  speak  without 
discussion  where  discussion  is  an  impossibility.  Solitude 
and  the  absence  of  some  opportunity  to  communicate  his 
feelings  may  irritate  the  malady  as  much  as  imprudent  oppo- 
sition ;  and  by  inducing  him  to  speak,  we  act  upon  springs 
which  may  ultimately  reveal  to  us  the  sufferer's  spirit.  ]ict 
us  not  hastily  adopt  the  notion  that  we  cannot,  in  lucid  or 
less  troubled  moments,  gain  an  entrance  for  some  thought  of 
peace,  perhaps  for  some  light,  may  excite  some  movement 
for  good  in  the  soul  of  the  hapless  wanderer  which  God  will 
regard.  "  Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters,  and  thou  shalt 
12 


354  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

find  it  after  many  days."*  The  mere  mention  of  tlio 
name  of  the  Ahnighty  Father  and  the  Divine  Mediator 
are  greatly  powerful,  and  have  often  worked  mightily  when 
all  discourse  would  have  been  unavailing.  A  certain  author- 
ity, a  kind  of  sternness  is  necessary;  they  must  feel  that 
we  have  strong  convictions :  there  is,  to  use  an  expression 
employed  by  Harms,  a  kind  of  magic  in  the  authority  which 
is  conferred  by  faith. f 

Some  cases  may  suggest  the  idea  of  a  j^f^^sessioii  or  a 
hesetting,  and  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  the  idea  is  to  be 
altogether  rejected;  but  I  have  known  persons,  under  this 
impression,  to  neglect  the  medical  processes  which  were 
clearly  indicated,  and  which  at  least  ought  to  have  been 
fairly  tried;  and  I  believe  that  formal  exorcisms  or  conjura- 
tions are  likely  to  render  those  who  are  only  distressed 
thoroughly  mad.  The  truest  conjuration  is  prayer  and 
charity. 

The  pastor  ought  not  to  be  unacquainted  with  the  prin- 
cipal works  which  treat  of  mental  maladies.  It  is  to  be 
presumed  that  anthropology  will  enter  into  his  general 
studies. 

3.  Interference  of  the  pastor  in  dissensions  between  per- 
sons.— "  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers."  Matt.  v.  9.  Such, 
certainly,  should  the  minister  be.  He  is  a  justice  of  the 
peace  in  the  name  of  religion  ;  a  judge  and  not  an  arbitrator  : 
with  reference  to  which  we  are  directly  guided  by  our  Lord — 

[*  A  judicious  and  successful  superintendent  of  a  Lunatic  Hospital 
•where  ■we  have  frequently  preached,  told  us  that  the  Sunday  service 
had  a  most  happy  effect  on  many  of  his  j^atients :  he  could  not  dis- 
pense with  it.— T.  0.  S.] 

f  **  Ein  Priester  der  nicht  magisch  wirkt  ist  gar  kein  Priester,  und 
ein  Prediger,  der  nicht  magisch  wirkt,  ist  nur  ein  halber  Prediger." 
— Fastoraltheologie,  vol.  ii.,  p.  73 


PASTORAL    LIFE.  355 

"Man,  who  iiiado  mc  a  judge  or  a  divider,  over  you?" 
(Luke  xii.  14 ;)  which  does  not  imply  that,  with  experience, 
tact,  and  knowledge  of  affairs,  he  may  not  propose,  in  cases 
of  necessity,  means  of  accommodation.  But  what  he  shoukl 
especially,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases  do,  is  to  recommend 
mutual  concession  and  forbearance,  to  extinguish  pride  and 
resentment,  to  awaken  generous  elements  and  religious 
motives  in  the  soul,  to  excite  that  spirit  of  sclf-sacriCce 
which  is  the  first  practical  characteristic  of  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  a  delicate  matter  to  assume  the  position  of  a  third 
party,  without  being  invited  to  be  so,  in  domestic  quarrels  ;* 
it  is  best,  when  we  can  do  it,  to  take  the  part  of  each  of  the 
contending  parties.  It  is  dangerous  to  allow  long  narrations, 
by  which  each  party  rekindles  and  nourishes  his  hatred,  and 
which  makes  the  intervening  party  an  involuntary  instigator 
in  the  quarrel  which  has  begun.  It  is  also  undesirable  to 
propose  questions,  the  answers  to  which  are  perhaps  obvious 
enough  in  a  moral  and  religious  point  of  view,  but  which 
are  dangerous  because  of  the  difficulty  that  is  often  felt  in 
answering  them ;  a  difficulty  which,  when  it  is  perceived  or 
discovered,  enfeebles  the  authority  of  him  who  desires  to 
conciliate.  However,  although  partisanship  is  always  wrong, 
we  must  not  shut  our  eyes  to  evidence,  nor  our  hearts  to 
justice :  this,  also,  would  be  discreditable  to  us.  The  man 
who  boasts  of  his  merits  and  rights  must  of  necessity  be 
admonished  concerning  the  duty  of  humility. 

In  disputes  between  married  persons,  the  idea  of  separa- 
tion should  be  discouraged  as  far  as  possible ;  never  should 
it  be  suggested ;  neither,  however,  should  it  be  rejected 
when  the  forced  continuance   of  relationship   would  be  an 

*  Bcngcrs  Thoughts,  ?  33. 


356  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

occasion  of  greater  scandal  and  sin  than  will  arise  from  the 
separation. 

There  are  confidences  which  it  is  as  dangerous  and  unde- 
sirable as  it  is  painful  to  receive ;  very  rarely  is  it  the  case 
that  precise  and  detailed  explanations  of  a  certain  kind  are 
necessary  in  order  to  apprise  the  pastor  of  the  actual  position 
of  afiairs.  The  disinclination  to  hear  them  which  he 
exhibits,  and,  if  needs  be,  his  positive  refusal,  is  in  itself  an 
admonition  and  a  lesson  for  the  parties.  From  this  I  except 
those  cases  in  which  it  is  important  to  be  informed  on  all 
particulars,  in  order  that  evil  may  be  prevented  or  remedied. 
But  it  should  always  be  seen  that  the  pastor  has  a  proper 
self-respect,  and  that  only  Christian  love  can  induce  him  to 
cast  a  glance  into  the  impure  abyss  of  vice. 

4.  The  2^007'. — The  chief  Shepherd  cared  for  the  poor, 
and  has  given,  as  one  principal  characteristic  of  his  Church, 
compassion  for  this  kind  of  misfortune,  and  carefulness  to 
establish  equality  by  Christian  love.  The  apostles,  when 
they  partly  transferred  the  care  of  the  poor  to  deacons,  did 
not  at  all  renounce  their  interest  in  the  class;  indeed,  we 
find  that  they  always  paid  special  regard  to  it.  Deacons, 
moreover,  are  ministers  of  religion,  so  that  care  for  the  poor 
is  thus  made  a  ministry  of  Christianity.  At  present,  there 
are  no  longer  deacons  in  this  special  sense,  or  rather  every 
Christian  is  a  deacon ;  but  as  nothing  is  regulated  on  this 
principle,  neither  indeed  can  be,  that  which  was  temporarily 
detached  from  the  ministry  of  the  gospel  does  now  rightfully 
resume  its  place  there,  and  the  pastor  is  himself  a  deacon. 

So  he  will  necessarily  be,  whatever  institutions  may  enter 
into  the  organization  of  the  Church,  because  his  ministry  is 
a  ministry  of  compassion,  and  such  a  ministry  cannot  ruth- 
lessly cut  away  the  sentiment  which  is  its  basis ;  for  we  may 
not  manifest  sympathy  with  the  spiritual  miseries  of  men 


'  PASTORAL     LIFE.  357 

while  we  show  ourselves  iudifierent  to  their  temporal  mis- 
fortunes. Public  leelinc;  and  opinion  everywhere  claims  this 
as  the  twofold  province  of  the  Christian  ministry. 

The  pastor  is  not  only  Called  upon  to  exercise  a  ministry 
of  beneficence,  but  also  to  promote  and  entertain  a  spirit  of 
beneficence.  In  order  to  do  this,  he  must  not  only  give  an 
example  of  beneficence,  but  he  must  urge  and  train  to  the 
same  all  his  parishioners,  without  distinction  of  class,  or,  if 
I  may  use  the  term,  of  fortune.  We  must  "  bear  one 
another's  burdens."  Gal.  vi.  2.  This  maxim,  which  ought 
to  be  the  motto  and  soul  of  every  society,  ought  to  be  actively 
illustrated  by  the  pastor,  and  commended  by  him  to  all  whom 
he  can  influence.  He  will  have  done  much  when  he  ha's 
succeeded  in  reducing  the  rich  to  accept  and  act  upon  this 
principle ;  he  will  have  done  much  more  when  he  has 
persuaded  the  poor  that  it  refers  to  them  also,  and  that  they 
have  the  power  to  observe  it.  Associations  may  be  good 
and  even  necessary,  but  the  pastor  will  be  careful  that  they 
do  not  absorb  personal  activity  and  responsibility.  "  The 
rich  and  the  poor  [must]  meet  together."     Prov.  xxii.  2. 

As  to  the  actual  care  to  be  exercised  on  behalf  of  the 
indigent,  the  pastor  should  ascertain  for  himself  the  situation 
and  resources  of  each  one.  A  mind  devoted  to  details,  a 
spirit  of  industry  and  benevolence — this  it  is  which  can 
render  him  trul}'  useful ;  this  also  will  make  him  respected ; 
this  it  is  which  gives  to  the  benefactor  an  authority  over 
those  whom  he  has  relieved.  We  must  listen  patiently  to 
their  complaints  and  narrations,  endure  a  little  wearisome 
prolixity,  enter  into  human  nature,  and  recollect,  by  our  own 
experience,  that  "  the  recital  of  our  griefs  is  often  the  best 
relief."*     We  meet,  in  this  region  of  activity,  with  so  much 

*  "A  racontcr  ses  manx  souvent  on  les  soulagc."' — Corneille'a 
Polyeuctc,  Act  I.,  Scene  iii. 


358  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

deception  and  meanness — we  see  human  nature  under  so 
repulsive  an  aspect — that  we  are  strongly  tempted  to  lose 
that  respect  and  *'  honor"  for  "  all  men"  which  should  not 
be  denied  even  to  the  most  abject  and  depraved. 

Let  the  pastor's  first  object  be  to  raise  the  mental  and 
moral  courage  and  energy  of  the  poor,  to  interest  them  in 
making  the  best  use  of  the  resources  which  they  may  have 
at  command,  to  maintain  and  revive  the  sentiment  of  self- 
respect,  to  show  to  them,  in  their  poverty,  all  the  respect  to 
which  they  are  entitled,  and  which  they  are  able  to  appreciate. 

Not  only  charity,  but  also  a  regard  to  real  necessity, 
^lould  teach  us  how  to  refuse  to  give  to  imaginary  wants,  or 
to  those  caused  by  idleness  and  selfishness.  Let  us  be 
careful  lest  we  foster  poverty  by  the  very  means  which  we 
take  to  remove  it.  Let  us  be  ever  mindful  of  those  inflexible 
laws  which,  in  the  nature  of  things,  determine  the  general 
condition  of  a  large  population,  and  let  these  laws  be  present 
to  us  when  dealing  with  each  particular  case,  since  each 
particular  case  may  not  itself  suggest  them — may  even 
tempt  us  to  foi'get  them. 

The  importance  for  us  that  there  should  be  no  doubt 
entertained  by  our  people  of  our  own  personal  beneficence 
ought  not  to  lead  us  to  connive  at  the  idea,  so  rife  in  some 
parishes,  that  every  ease  is  to  be  undertaken,  indiscriminately, 
by  the  pastor  or  his  household.  Importunity  and  indelicacy 
must  be  restrained  within  the  bounds  of  order. 

Do  not  appear  as  if  you  expected  payment  for  your  assist- 
ance in  the  shape  of  demonstrations  of  piety.  Do  not  give 
the  impression  that  your  only  motive  for  relieving  the  body 
is  that  you  may  reach  the  soul.  In  your  earliest  interviews 
let  religious  expressions  be  subdued  and  moderate.* 

*  Beneficence  has  become  an  art,  the  principal  rules  of  which 
must  ultimately  become  popular.     On  this  subject  there  are  some 


PASTOllAL     LIFE.  359 

The  good  which  can  be  done  by  the  pastor  himself  is, 
materially  regarded,  of  small  consequence  compared  with 
that  which  is  produced  by  his  mediating  position.  He  is 
the  delegate  of  the  poor  to  the  rich,  and  of  the  rich  to  the 
poor.  The  first  function  is  difiicult  and  delicate.  We  must 
expect  refusals  and  affronts.  Pastors  should  often  call  to 
mind  the  noble  reply  of  the  pastor,  who,  having  received  a 
blow  from  an  impatient  rich  man,  said  to  him,  "  This,  then, 
is  for  myself;  what  have  you  now  for  my  poor  friends  ?" 
However,  it  is  wrong  to  take  no  account  of  differences  of 
position  and  of  prior  claims.  We  must  know  how  to  refrain 
appropriately ;  we  should  endeavor  to  interest  the  rich  man 
in  the  details  of  the  case  which  is  commended  to  his 
liberality;  induce  him  to  make  the  relief  of  it  a  matter  of  his 
own  personal  interest;  ask  of  him  something  better  than 
money ;  use  no  moral  constraint  to  obtain  his  consent ;  be 
content  when  he  does  give,  resigned,  but  not  testy,  when  he 
refuses.  But  in  all  cases  we  should  fulfil  this  task  with  as 
much  liberty  as  delicacy  and  modesty.  [To  be  ashamed  of 
this  duty  would  be  to  renounce  one  of  the  most  excellent 
parts  of  the  ministry,  and  to  prepare  ourselves  for  continual 
refusals  to  our  requests.] 

important  works  which  should  be  read ;  as,  in  French,  M.  Duchatel's 
work  on  Charity',  that  of  M.  Naville  on  the  same  sulijcct;  Le  Visileur 
dti  Paiivre,  by  M.  de  Gerando ;  and,  in  Enpjlis]!,  Dr.  Chalmers's  work 
on  the  Civil  and  Charitable  Economy  of  Large  Towns. 


360  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 


FOURTH    PART. 

ADMINISTRATIVE    OR    OFFICIAL    LIFE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

DISCIPLINE.* 

This  word  has  almost  lost  its  meaning  in  our  ecclesiastical 
institutions,  or  rather  in  the  character  which  has  been  given 
to  them  by  our  times.  Discipline  is  to  ecclesiastical  order 
what  the  police  is  to  civil  order;  but  the  citizen,  whether  he 
will  or  no,  is  subject  to  law :  it  is  not  so  with  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  and  when  the  law  of  the  Church  is  not 
sanctioned  by  public  opinion,  we  may  say  that  it  is  no  longer 
law.  The  execution  of  disciplinary  penalties  has  no  longer 
any  civil  guarantees  or  external  consequences,  so  that  an 
external  sanction  does  not  lend  its  weight  to  internal 
authority ;  in  one  word,  discipline  has  no  platform  to  stand 
upon.  It  only  remains,  therefore,  that  the  pastor  should 
adopt  this  function  as  belonging  to  himself  individually. 
And  it  must  be  allowed  that  what  little  remains,  existing  in 
defiance  of  so  complete  an  external  amnesty,  is  excellent  in 
proportion  to  its  limited  extent. 

We  cannot  omit   to  call   the  attention  of  ministers  to  a 
danger  which  many  of  them  do  not  even  suspect.     Remon- 

*  See  Bengel's  Thoughts,  §  36. 


ADMINISTRATIVE     OR     OFFICIAL    LIFE.        oGl 

stranccs  and  rebukes,  wliicli  arc  a  part  of  pastoral  ilisciplinc, 
arc  exercised  mucli  more  easily  on  the  poor  and  humble  than 
on  the  rich  and  great.  We  are  tempted  to  be  severe  on  the 
former,  in  order  to  compound  for  our  toleration  for  the  sins 
of  the  latter.  This  is,  however,  no  compensation.  And  the 
pastor  is  nnworth}'^  of  his  mission  unless  he  makes  his 
authority  felt  by  all  souls  v?ithout  regard  to  persons ;  he  is  a 
pastor  of  souls,  not  of  classes.  From  this,  however,  it  is  not 
to  be  inferred  that  no  distinction,  in  manner  and  form,  ought 
to  be  observed.  The  same  means  have  a  diflerent  value 
according  to  the  person  to  whom  they  arc  applied ;  and  wo 
may,  wishing  to  pay  respect  to  equality,  treat  different  per- 
sons with  great  inequality. 

Excommunication,  properly  so  called,  can  have  no  place  in 
a  Church  which  is  expressly  the  Church  of  humanity  as  a 
whole.  Communicants  have  no  judge  without  their  own 
body.  It  is  theirs  to  take  heed  lest  they  eat  and  drink  to 
their  own  condemnation  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  When- 
ever the  Church  belongs  to  the  body  politic,  and  where 
general  consent  has  ceased  to  countenance  the  severities  of 
discipline,  we  cannot  entertain  the  thought  of  exercising  it, 
still  less  of  reestablishing  the  conditions  of  its  existence, 
which  belong  to  another  scheme  of  social  order.  The 
pastor's  duty  is,  however,  to  dissuade  froui  partaking  of  the 
Supper  those  whom  he  believes  to  be  unqualified  to  receive 
it  without  danger  to  themselves,  and  to  warn  them,  collec- 
tively, I'rom  the  pulpit.  The  same  rule,  and  no  other, 
applies  to  all  who  sustain  office  in  the  Church.* 

[*  The  embargo  laid  upon  ecclesiastical  discipline  in  those 
Churches  which  are  established  by  law,  has,  of  course,  no  place  in 
fii'c  ('hurches;  but  pastors  should  be  exceedingly  cauiiovis  in  exer- 
cisiuft  tlie  fearful  power  of  excommunication.  Before  (his  is 
resorted  to,  every  reformatory  method  of  discipline  should  be 
adopted.— T.  0.  S.] 


362  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY 


CHAPTER  II. 

CONDUCT   TOWARDS   DIFFERENT   RELIGIOUS   PARTIES. 

The  first  rule  to  be  observed  by  the  pastor  with  reference 
to  the  religious  parties  which  may  exist  in  his  parish,  whether 
they  are  simply  parties,  or  form  themselves  into  separate 
communities,  is  to  preach  the  gospel  with  such  simplicity, 
cordiality,  and  piety  as  shall  not  fail  to  attract  all  truthful 
hearts  and  minds  to  that  form  of  Christian  doctrine.  Such 
a  position  admonishes  the  pastor,  as  far  as  possible,  to  exhibit 
no  color  but  that  of  the  purest  light.  There  are  few,  per- 
haps no  occasions,  where  the  pulpit  can  be  rightly  used  for 
polemical  purposes.  In  deepest  reality,  darkness  is  a  non- 
entity— only  light  is  a  real  existence ;  the  utterance  of  truth 
is  to  fill  a  void;  error  is  the  absence  of  truth.  Little  confi- 
dence should  be  placed  in  negative  means ;  do  not  believe 
that  you  have  destroyed  because  you  have  made  some  ruins, 
nor  that  you  have  edified  because  you  have  conquered.  The 
first,  the  most  natural,  and  often  the  only  effect  of  these  vic- 
tories, is  impatience  and  irritation  in  the  vanquished  party. 
Truth  is  an  energy,  a  power  j  we  have  done  all  when  we  have 
made  it  to  be  felt.      Virtutem  videant*     [Exhibit  virtue.] 

We  must  give  our  parishioners  an  example  of  just  conces- 
sion and  equity,  and  while  we  seek  their  appreciation,  not 

*  Persius's  Satire  iii.,  verse  38. 


ADMINISTRATIVE     OR     OFFICIAL    LIFE.        363 

through  reasoning,  but  by-  facts,  of  whatever  advantage  may 
belong  to  our  own  community  rather  than  to  anotlior,  wc 
should  teach  them  to  love  the  truth  better  than  their  own 
Church,  and  the  image  of  Christ  better  than  their  personal 
tastes.  But,  undoubtedly,  in  order  to  comply  with  the  first 
rule  that  we  have  given,  and  to  maintain  as  intimate  and 
friendly  relations  as  possible  with  the  (Ussidents,*  (I  use  the 
word  in  its  most  general  signification,)  it  is  sufficient  that 
Christian  sympathy  is  possible  between  us  and  them.  Any 
conduct  that  passes  beyond  this,  that  is  to  say,  such  conduct 
as  should  give  the  impression  that  wc  do  not  belong  truly  to 
our  own  party,  and  hold  firmly  our  own  opinion,  which  should 
give  countenance  to  the  supposition  that  while  nominally 
connected  with  one  community,  our  hearts  belong  to  another, 
and  that  only  interested  considerations  or  the  fear  of  man 
prevent  us  from  identifying  ourselves  with  it — this  would  be 
a  scandal  to  our  Jlock  and  an  irremediable  blemish  on  our 
ministry. 

Taking  the  word  proselytism  in  its  most  general  sense,  it 
is  almost  ridiculous  to  ask  whether  proselytism  is  allowed  to 
pastors,  to  whom,  indeed,  it  belongs  as  an  essential  part  of 
their  duty.  But  we  may  ask,  while  still  adhering  to  the 
general  sense  of  the  word,  whether  there  are  or  not  certain 
rules  to  observe,  certain  limitations  to  keep ;  and  then  we 
may  ask  whether  that  proselytism  which  aims  at  bringing 
over  an  individual  from  one  sect  to  another  is  a  legitimate 
and  recommendable  thing. 

Taking  the  second  question  first,  we  may  say  that  conver- 
sion from  one  sect  to  another,  (ecclesiastical  proselytism,)  can 
never  be  the  immediate  aim  of  the  minister,  nor  of  any  rea- 
sonable Christian  man.  But  we  must  also  admit,  that  when 
we  endeavor  to  make  a  man  a  Christian,  we  aim  to  make  him 

*  See  Bcugcl's  Pastoral  Thoughts,  g§  41,  42. 


364  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

one  in  the  same  sense  as  we  are  ourselves  Chi*istian,  and  that 
this  fact  need  not  be  concealed  either  from  ourselves  or  from 
others.  A  man  who  is  convinced  of  the  truth  of  our  doc- 
trine by  means  of  our  own  teaching,  may  not  feel  himself 
urged  to  pass  from  his  community  into  ours,  that  is  to  say, 
formally  to  abjure  his  own.  If  he  is  under  a  simple  illusion, 
we  may  wait  patiently  until  more  light  has  come  to  dissipate 
the  illusion ;  if  he  is  deterred  by  the  fear  of  man,  we  must 
not  countenance  such  a  feeling,  but  express  ourselves  freely 
to  him  on  the  subject,  but  without  pressing  our  neophyte  to 
take  a  step  to  which  he  is  averse.  Always  as  his  conscience 
becomes  more  enlightened,  this  act  of  self-enfranchisement 
will  become  an  imperious  necessity. 

As  to  spiritual  proselytism,  which  aims  at  bringing  men  to 
God,  we  are  all  ready  to  assert  with  St.  Paul,  that  the  min- 
ister must  "  be  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season,"  2  Tim. 
iv.  2;  but  certainly  not  so  as  to  violate  propriety.  Rudeness 
and  impetuosity  are  never  seasonable ;  and  when  we  are  not 
satisfied  with  waiting  for  opportunities,  or  procuring  them ; 
when  we  create,  or,  more  truly,  when  we  dispense  with  them, 
it  is  difficult  to  avoid  being  rude  and  impetuous,  and  conse- 
quently irritating  rather  than  conciliatory.  If  we  think  that 
this  is  not  to  be  regarded,  then  we  may  go  yet  farther;,  we 
must  stop  the  passers-by  in  the  streets ;  we  must  invade  their 
houses;  wc  must  introduce  the  subject  of  salvation  on  all 
occasions,  making  every  thing  yield  to  it ;  we  must  insult 
every  one  we  meet  with.  I  believe  that  if  we  will  watch  for 
opportunities,  and  use  them  when  they  are  presented — if  we 
will  be  careful  to  mature  our  works,  we  shall  find  enough  to 
occupy  our  time,  and  that  there  will  be,  on  the  whole,  a 
deeper  and  more  extensive  result  in  following  this  method, 
than  in  so  many  multiplied  and  random  strokes,  made  without 
discernment  and  without  a  fixed  plan.  The  more  we  advance 
in  life,  the  more  shall  we  think  with  St.  Martin,  that  "  noise 


ADMINISTRATIVE     OR     OFFICIAL     LIFE.        365 

makes  no  good,  and  what  is  good  makes  no  noise ;"  wc  must 
not  "  refuse  the  waters  of  Shiloah  that  go  softly."  Isa.  viii. 
6.  [We  must  not  "run  uncertainly,"  nor  strike  "as  one 
that  beateth  the  air."  1  Cor.  ix.  26.  But  not  less  care- 
fully should  we  avoid  a  tortuous,  circuitous  manner  of  ap- 
proaching religious  subjects,  aud  of  turning  the  conversation 
towards  the  point  at  which  wc  are  aiming.  There  may  be 
an  ingenious  dexterity,  but  stratagem  is  never  of  any  use ; 
Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles  never  made  use  of  it;  they 
acted  with  simplicity,  and  we  ought  to  take  them  as  our 
models  in  this  respect.] 


366  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 


CHAPTER   III. 

RELATIONS    OF   ECCLESIASTICS   AMONG    THEMSELVES. 

We  may  distinguish  the  relations  between  clerical  breth- 
ren, suffragans,  and  colleagues. 

Brethren  in  the  clergy. — Without  at  all  recommending  the 
spirit  of  caste,  we  may  yet  recommend,  for  the  good  of  the 
Church,  that  harmonious  relations  and  frequent  intercourse 
should  be  maintained  among  members  of  the  same  clerical 
order.  If  the  Apostle  Paul  sympathized  deeply  with  all  that 
affected  the  inner  life  or  the  external  position  of  his  disci- 
ples, doubtless  he  sympathized  in  a  special  degree  with  all 
that  affected  the  welfare  of  his  companions  in  the  ministry. 
Each  ought  both  to  receive  from  all  and  impart  to  all  that 
jsvhich  is  profitable  for  himself  and  them ;  thus  honoring 
himself  and  others  by  mutual  confidence,  promoting  the  edi- 
fication of  all  by  a  peaceful  spirit,  by  deference  and  frank- 
ness, both  in  the  assemblies  for  common  meeting  and  in  in- 
tercourse among  individuals.  Seriousness  should  be  combined 
with  familiarity,  so  that  fraternity  may  not  degenerate  into 
mere  jovial  clanship.  Each  should  be  ready  and  willing  to 
show  an  honorable  hospitality  to  his  brethren,  to  provide  for 
the  wants  of  an  unfortunate  brother,  and  not  to  leave  to 
others  all  the  honor  and  the  trouble  of  ministering  to  his 
necessities.  Conference  should  be  maintained  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, that  each  may  profit  by  the  experience  of  the  rest. 


ADMINISTRATIVK     OR    OFFICIAL    LIFE.        3G7 

Lnstly,  as  iimcli  unity  of  principles,  and  even  of  exterior 
liabits  and  conduct,  should  be  maintained  as  is  compatible 
witli  a  native  sincerity  and  liberty. 

Siijfrai/ans. — The  position  of  the  suffragan  in  the  country 
is  not  generally  a  difficult  one.  It  is,  however,  superfluous 
to  indicate  to  young  ministers  what  are  those  principles  which 
should  direct  them.  The  suffragan  minister  is  neither  a 
hired  laborer,  a  commissioner,  nor  a  clergyman.  In  one 
sphere  he  is  perfectly  uncontrolled ;  he  must  therefore  re- 
serve to  himself  a  corresponding  feature  of  independence  in  his 
character ;  but,  in  all  that  does  not  belong  to  this  sphere,  he 
should  consider  himself  as  subordinate  to  the  will  of  the  re- 
cognized pastor,  or  he  should  at  least  remember  that  office 
has  not  yet  been  formally  intrusted  to  him.  In  cases  in 
which  the  pastor  does  not  wish  to  enforce  his  own  right,  and 
in  which  the  suffragan  must  decide  for  himself,  he  should 
consult  his  elder  brother,  listen  to  his  advice  with  candid  at- 
tention, being  well  assured  that  experience  has  its  true  worth  ; 
that  advice  which  at  first  excites  the  greatest  astonishment, 
may  ultimately  appear  as  natural  as  it  is  judicious,  and  that 
opinions  which  we  think  can  never  be  called  in  question, 
have  often  appeared,  after  a  time,  to  be  absurd  and  ridicu- 
lous. The  young  minister  will,  if  he  is  wise,  introduce  few 
innovations ;  he  will  generally  not  even  admit  an  innovation 
that  is  only  useful ;  it  must  also  be  necessary.  He  will  not 
hinder  the  pastor,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  from  putting 
his  liand  to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  but  he  will  so  act  as  to 
continue  what  he  has  commenced,  and  will  not  mingle  up 
with  that  which  has  been  originated  through  his  energy  another 
impulse,  which,  without  being  contradictory,  but  only  because 
it  is  different  in  character,  embarrasses  the  minds  of  his  people 
and  destroys  the  unity  and  consistency  of  the  work.  lie  will 
be  temperate  in  his  style  of  preaching,  will  introduce  but  few 


oGS  PASTORAL     THEOLOGY. 

local  allusions,  and  will  endeavor  to  join  modesty  with  au- 
thority. 

Colleagues. — If  it  is  a  "good  and  pleasant"  thing  for 
'^  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity,"  (Psalm  cxxxiii.  1,) 
this  unity  is  especially  desirable  between  those  who  exercise 
"  the  ministry  of  reconciliation"  over  the  same  flock.  This 
unity  is  neither  so  common,  nor,  where  it  exists,  is  it  so 
complete  as  might  reasonably  be  expected  and  hoped.  There 
is  no  necessity  for  me  to  indicate  the  reasons  of  this,  nor  to 
insist  on  the  duty  of  reestablishing  this  upity,  and  of  per- 
fecting it;  since  it  is  evident  that  nothing  is  so  calculated  to 
bring  the  ministi'y  into  discredit,  and  to  damage  its  moral 
effect,  as  the  absence  of  a  proper  understanding  between  the 
pastors.  This  is  a  touchstone  the  application  of  which  would 
be  fatal  to  more  than  one  Christian  work  which  regards  it- 
self as  pure.  As  long  as  the  pastor  was  alone,  he  thought  that 
he  was  performing  the  work  of  God  from  pure  love  to  it,  so 
that  he  would  willingly  have  said,  tera7'  dum  jyrosim — ["  He 
must  increase,  but  I  must  decrease."]  But  when  he  has  seen 
it  to  be  done  by  others  as  well  as  if  not  better  than  by  himself, 
and  has  learnt  to  his  cost  that  he  would  rather  that  the  work 
.should  not  be  done  at  all  than  that  it  should  be  done  by  others 
too  much  at  the  expense  of  his  own  personal  vanity ;  when 
he  is  surprised  and  distressed  at  the  blessing  that  attends 
their  labors,  and  rejoices  at  their  ill-considered  measures  and 
their  unfortunate  failures  ;  then  he  may  know  whether  he  is 
more  attached  to  the  good  itself  which  he  does,  or  to  the 
glory  which  accrues  to  himself  from  doing  it.  Many  minis- 
ters have  thus  made  a  deeply  humiliating  discovery,  which 
ought  to  have  convinced  them  of  the  lamentable  feebleness 
of  the  basis  on  which  their  Christianity  and  their  ministry 
rest.  Perhaps  all  other  causes  of  disunion  between  ministers, 
(one  encroaching  on  the  domain  of  the  other;  jealousy  of 


ADMINISTRATIVE     OR    OFFICIAL     LIFE.        3G9 

tomporal  advantages ;  dissensions  between  the  families  of 
jiastors,  when  the  pastors  themselves  arc  disposed  to  live  in 
amity ;  lastly,  difference  of  opinion  and  difference  of  arrange- 
ment)— perhaps  all  these  causes  of  division  are  trifling,  when 
compared  with  what  may  be  termed  professional  jealousy. 
But  they  must  all  be  carefully  avoided  and  anticipated.  What 
is  especially  to  be  recommended  is  perfect  freedom  in  the  re- 
lations of  one  colleague  to  his  fellow  from  the  commence- 
ment of  their  joint  ministry.  Dissatisfaction  and  vexation 
may  afterwards  inspire  an  equal  amount  of  frankness,  but  it 
is  worth  nothing.  •  That  which  is  made  a  rule  from  the  com- 
mencement, before  any  collision,  will  secure  mutual  confi- 
dence, and  will  prevent,  more  efficiently  than  any  thing  else, 
painful  and  injurious  conflicts.  The  habit  of  praying  in  se- 
cret for  each  other,  carefully,  minutely,  is  the  most  suitable 
means  of  extinguishing  the  flames  of  jealousy  and  resentment : 
this  is  the  first  duty  that  we  owe  to  one  another.* 


*  I  here  tr.anscribe,  -witboiit  comment,  some  rules  given  by  Clans 
Harms.  Thei'e  is  certainly  something  in  them  that  may  be  Avortli 
<nir  remembering,  and  even  those  which  appear  the  most  microscopic 
may  supply  important  suggestions: 

"  Meide  den  Bekannten  von  friiherer  Zeit." — Shun  acquaintances 
of  former  times. 

"Trit  nicht  in  das  VerhllUniss  des  Du  und  Du." — Avoid  undue  fa- 
miliarity. 

"  Lass  dir  nicht  zu  viele  Verbindlichkeitcn  auflcgen." — Do  not  con- 
tract too  many  obligations. 

"  Fange  nicht  mit  zu  heisser  Freundschaft  an." — Do  not  begin  with 
too  ardent  demonstrations  of  attachment. 

"  Verschaffc  dir  die  klarste  Kenntniss  von  .alien  Beikommenheiten." 
— Make  yourself  accurately  acquainted  with  all  subordinate  facts. 

"Binnin  Jahr  und  Tag  ninim  keine  erhebliche  VerHnderung  vor." 
— Be  not  hasty  in  introducing  important  changes. 

"  Gehe  nicht  auf  Verdunkelung  deincs  CoUegen  aus." — Do  not  aim 
at  eclipsing  your  colleague. 


370  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE   PASTOR   IN    HIS   RELATIONS   TO   AUTHORITIES.* 

First  of  all  there  is  ecclesiastical  authority,  of  whicli  the 
pastor  forms  a  part.  His  duty  is  diligently  to  assist  at  the 
assemblies  of  his  order,  to  take  an  active  part  in  their  delibe- 
rations, and  to  exert  all  his  influence  in  rendering  them 
serious.  He  ought  carefully  to  avoid  treating  such  small 
questions  as  arise  on  these  occasions  with  that  fulness, 
gravity,  and  vivacity  which  are  only  appropriate  to  important 
cases.  In  conferences  which  are  composed  of  ecclesiastics, 
we  are  in  danger  of  forming  a  habit  of  treating  all  subjects 

"  Schlaue  dich  nicht  zu  seiner  Gegenpartei." — Identify  yourself 
■with  no  party  that  is  opposed  to  him. 

"  Nimm  Weib,  Kinder  und  Gesind  in  Acht." — Look  well  to  your 
■wife,  children,  and  servants. 

«'  Scheue  die  Billets." — Be^ware  of  notes. 

"Lieber  als  Hammer  sei  du  Ambos." — Be  the  an^vil  rather  than 
the  hammer. 

Ea,rms—PastoraU}ieoloffie,  vol.  iii.,  p.  168. — The  originality  of  the 
phraseology  of  the  original  often  adds  ■weight  to  these  maxims  of 
Glaus  Harms.  M.  Vinet  quotes  them  in  the  German ;  "we  have  thought 
it  right  to  give  a  translation,  although  it  is  impossible  to  represent 
fully  the  force  and  vigor  of  the  original. — Ed. 

*  See  Bengel's  Thoughts,  §  44.  In  Appendix,  Note  IX.,  we  have 
inserted  Bengel's  Thoughts,  which  have  been  quoted  several  times 
in  this  course. 


ADMINISTRATIVE    OR    OFFICIAL    LIFE.       371 

witli  givavity,  and  of  insisting  strongly  on  verbal  distinctions. 
The  csjvif  dc  corps  is  more  natural  at  these  assemblies  than 
at  any  others,  and  the  clerical  professional  sentiment,  strange 
to  say,  finds  so  much  the  more  abundant  nutriment  as  the 
matters  treated  of  arc  less  immediately  and  seriously  religious. 
We  must  learn,  especially  if  we  arc  comparatively  young, 
how  to  make  opportune  concessions,  and  believe  that  the 
nuiintcnance  of  peace  is  very  often  of  far  greater  value  than 
all  the  advantages  which  might  result  from  the  triumph  of 
our  own  opinions. 

Mutual  discipline  is  a  delicate  point.  As  a  principle,  it  is 
recognized  in  all  ecclesiastical  constitutions,  but  I  have  never 
yet  met  with  an  assembly  in  which  it  is  seriously  practiced. 
If  rightly  understood,  its  province  extends  from  counsels 
and  admonitions  to  the  most  positive  and  severe  penal 
measures.  But,  in  most  ecclesiastical  bodies,  it  is  only 
enforced  in  cases  of  such  extreme  and  mournful  character, 
that  we  may  affirm  they  can  yield  little  moral  result.  I 
know  not  how  far  it  may  depend  on  the  juries^  to  raise  the 
excellent  institution  of  church  visfts  above  its  present  level, 
but  I  believe  that  every  thing  should  habitually  be  done  that 
can  be  done  to  promote  mutual  frankness,  both  by  the  pastor 
who  visits  each  several  church,  and  by  the  respective  pastors 
of  these  churches.  Moreover,  we  are  all  bound  to  bo 
inspectors  of  one  another ;  it  is  the  duty  of  all  to  admonish 
in  an  humble  and  charitable  spirit,  to  suggest  what  may  be 
useful  to  all,  and  that  which  is  very  often,  through  our  pro- 
iessional  prejudices,  unknown  to  ourselves,  though  it  is 
observed  by  all  the  world  besides. 
.  In  our  relations  with  civil  or  municipal  authoriti/,  with 

*  The  juris  in  the  E.sUblislicd  Church  of  the  Canton  dc  Vaud  are 
inspectors  appointed  by  (he  classes  (or  pastoral  aHsemhlics)  for  (he 
supervision  of  a  certain  number  of  parishes ;  their  du(y  is  to  visit 
the  parishes  periodically. — (En.) 


372  PASTORAL    THEOLOGY. 

the  state  or  the  community,  we  should  never  forget  that  wc 
are  something  more  than  functionaries  of  the  republic,  and 
that  we  are  in  no  degree  responsible  to  the  magistrate  for 
that  which  concerns  the  most  essential  aim  of  our  ministry 
— the  teaching  of  truth.  But  we  should  be  careful  not  to 
assert  our  irresponsibility  by  haughtiness,  and  we  should 
avoid  with  equal  care  the  unbecoming  manners  which  so 
many  ministers  assume  who  affect  a  dissatisfied,  frigid,  and 
censorious  demeanor  in  their  relations  to  civil  authority.  It 
is  very  undesirable  that  the  people  should  learn  from  us 
what  so  many  persons  learn  from  them — a  jyriori  disapproba- 
tion, antecedent  presumption  of  blame  as  attaching  to  every 
thing  that  constitutes  power.  Servility  is  not  more  un- 
worthy of  our  character  than  this  ridiculous  antagonism. 
IMoreover,  our  relations  with  political  authorities  are  in  no 
respects  political  relations.  We  are,  in  a  certain  sense, 
responsible  to  the  state,  but  we  are  not  officers  of  the  state, 
and  state  business  does  not  refer  to  us.  In  times  of  political 
ferment  or  revolution,  our  only  mission  is  to  tranquillize  the 
minds  of  men,  by  exhibiting  before  them  those  great  verities 
which,  although  they  do  not  annihilate  worldly  interests,  do 
yet  subordinate  all  our  movements'  to  the  great  concerns  of 
the  soul  and  of  eternity.  I  do  not  intend  to  assert  that  the 
pastor  should  aifect  to  ignore  the  preferences,  dangers,  fears, 
hopes  of  his  country ;  but  the  strifes  of  opinion  are  not  for 
him :  he  has  to  take  no  part  but  that  of  obedience  to  law  as 
long  as  law  exists,  and,  in  all  cases,  his  side  is  that  of  his 
country  and  of  national  independence.  The  occasions  are 
very  rare  when  citizens  may  be  addressed  as  citizens  from 
the  pulpit,  and  when  their  actual  duties,  in  this  relation,  can 
be  enforced  upon  them. 

We    may   advise    ecclesiastics,    generally — and    especially 
those   who   have   the   care   of   souls — to   take   no   part   in 


ADMINISTRATIVE    OR    OFFICIAL    LIFE.        373 

political    or    municiiial    bodies.     "Wc    have    treated    of   this 
question  elsewhere. 

In  the  administrative  part  of  his  functions,  the  pastor 
ought  to  leave  nothing  to  be  desired  on  the  score  of  exacti- 
tude and  of  punctuality.  The  less  taste  he  feels  for  those 
details,  for  which,  in  fact,  a  man  occupying  his  position  is 
not  bound  to  have  much  taste,  the  more  careful  should  he 
be  neither  to  delay  nor  to  neglect  any  thing  5  and  it  is  his 
duty  to  study  with  assiduity,  both  in  their  letter  and  in  their 
spirit,  all  those  institutions,  laws,  and  regulations  which  arc 
at  all  related  to  the  duties  of  his  office.  A  pastor  who 
desires  to  be  useful,  even  in  a  spiritual  point  of  view  alone, 
ought  to  have  an  accurate  knowledge  and  an  intimate 
understanding  of  his  country,  of  his  people,  and  of  all  that, 
even  in  respect  to  material  relations,  has  any  important  con- 
nection with  the  state  of  society  and  of  the  several  classes 
which  compose  society. 

A  few  remarks  to  be  added  on  the  laws,  the  execution  of 
which  should  be  enforced  by  the  pastor,  and  on  the  plans 
which  he  may  advantageously  introduce  in  order  to  carry 
them  out. 


APPENDIX. 


NOTE  I.     PAGE  47. 
ON    THE   REALITY   OF   THE   PRIESTLY   OEFICE. 

The  priestliood,  it  is  true,  is  an  earthly  existence,  but  not 
the  less  on  this  account  is  it  rightly  numbered  among 
heavenly  things.  This  oflSce,  indeed,  has  not  been  instituted 
by  a  man,  nor  by  an  angel,  nor  by  an  archangel,  nor  by  any 
created  power,  but  by  the  Paraclete  himself,  who  has  also 
chosen  beings  who  are  yet  in  the  flesh  to  represent  the 
ministry  of  angels.  And  therefore  the  priest,  regarding 
himself  as  established  in  the  heavens  even  among  these 
loftier  powers,  ought  himself  to  be  pure  as  they.  Doubt- 
less the  economy  which  preceded  that  of  grace  was  venerable 
and  full  of  terrible  majesty.  Let  us  call  to  mind  those 
precious  stones  on  the  breast  and  shoulders  of  the  priest, 
the  mitre,  the  coat,  the  plates  of  gold,  the  holy  of  holies, 
the  deep  silence  in  the  interior  of  the  temple.  And  yet. 
when  you  compare  all  these  things  with  the  adornments  of 
the  gospel,  their  majesty  is  dimmed,  and  they  appear  mean. 
When  you  think  of  the  Lord  himself  as  sacrificed  and  pros- 
trate before  you,  the  priest  bending  over  the  victim  and 
praying  for  all,  and  all  sprinkled  with  the  most  precious 
blood,  can  you  believe  yourself  still  to  be  among  men  ?  can 
you  be  sure  that  you  are  yet  on  earth  ?  are  you  not  suddenly 
(374) 


A  r  r  E  N  I)  I  X .  o  / .) 

transported  into  heaven  ?  and  then,  disengaged  from  every 
carnal  thought,  do  you  not  contemplate  the  things  of  heaven 
immediately  and  in  all  their  native  purity  ':'...  Who,  that 
is  not  most  profoundly  insensible,  can  disdain  so  terrible  a 
mystery  ?  and  are  you  ignorant  that  the  soul  of  man  would 
never  have  endured  the  fire  of  this  sacrifice,  but  that  it 
would  have  devoured  all  who  should  have  approached  it,  had 
not  God  himself  intervened  with  the  all-powerful  assistance 
of  his  grace  ?  Think  of  that  man  who,  while  yet  confined 
within  the  limits  of  flesh  and  blood,  personally  approaches 
this  immortal  and  blessed  nature ;  then  will  you  perfectly 
comprehend  the  honor  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  con- 
descended to  confer  on  the  priest  by  whom  such  eff'ects  are 
produced,  and  others  in  no  way  inferior  in  grandeur  to 
these. —  Chrysostom,  De  Sacerdotio,  Lib.  iii.,  cap.  iv. 


NOTE  II.     PAGE  49. 
THE     MYSTERY     OF     PREACIIINO. 

Preaching  is  a  mystery  not  less  terrible  and  dreadful  than 
the  Eucharist.  It  appears  to  me  that  preaching  is  much 
more  terrible,  for  by  it  we  give  birth  to,  and  awaken  souls 
for  God ;  while  in  the  Eucharist  we  only  nourish  them,  or 
rather  heal  them.  In  order  to  render  ourselves  worthy  of 
this  office,  we  must  labor  to  obtain  a  complete  mastery  over 
self,  and,  after  we  have  brought  the  heart  to  desire  nothing 
in  this  world,  we  must  bring  the  tongue  to  silence — which 
is,  as  I  understand  it,  the  last  perfection  attained  by  the  man 
who  labors  to  attain  unto  vib-tuc.  Only  thus  can  wc  become 
worthy  of  presenting  the  word  of  God  before  the  world,  and 


376  APPENDIX. 

of  publishing  its  truths  without  the  least  divergence  of 
mind,  either  toward  self  or  toward  others — as  we  are  required 
to  do  in  prayer,  from  which  exhortation  and  preaching  can 
never  be  separated  if  they  are  performed  according  to  the 
will  of  God.  .  .  .  For  my  part,  I  would  rather  read  mass  a 
hundred  times  than  preach  once.  The  altar  is  a  place  of 
solitude,  but  the  pulpit  in  which  we  preach  is  the  place  of 
an  assembled  public,  where  we  should  fear  of  offending  God 
more  than  in  any  other  place.  .  .  .  We  ought  not  to 
approach  there  unless  we  have  labored  diligently  in  self- 
mortification,  and  striven  to  overcome  that  restless  anxiety 
to  learn  many  and  fine  things  which  affects  all  people,  and 
which  is  the  greatest  temptation  that  remains  to  us  from 
Adam's  transgression. — St.  Oyran,  Letter  XXXL,  to  M. 
Le  Rehours. 


NOTE  III.     PAGES  57,  73. 

ON   THE   EARLY    USURPATION    OP   PERSONAL   AUTHORITY  BY 
THE    PRIEST. 

Whilst  thus  several  inspired  men  announced  the  Christ 
with  all  simplicity,  and  added  to  their  preaching  special  ad- 
monition and  encouragements,  the  Christians  confirmed  them- 
selves in  their  faith  together  in  their  assemblies,  by  sacred 
songs,  by  pious  conversation,  and  by  listening  to  those  among 
them  who  felt  urged  to  preach.  Those  who  felt  this  impulse 
were,  for  the  most  part,  elders  chosen  by  the  assembled  Chris- 
tians, precisely  because  they  had  been  chosen  on  account  of 
this  qualification.  Others  of  the  faithful,  who  did  not  always 
remain  with  the  community,  labored  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  apostles;  so  that  there  really  was,  from  the  commence- 


A  r  r  E  N  D I  X .  377 

mcnt,  a  teaching  class,  although  the  separation  of  it  from  the 
body  of  believers  was  only  effected  by  degrees.  This  already 
existed  in  the  second  or  third  generation  of  the  believers, 
that  is  to  say,  from  the  second  century;  so  that  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  faithful  and  tlie  minister  of  the  community, 
or,  to  use  the  Greek  term,  between  the  dercjij  and  the  laity, 
was  established. 

Note. — Under  the  designation  KX?jpog  the  Apostle  Peter 
comprehended,  after  the  spirit  of  Judaism,  the  people  of 
God,  or  Christians,  1  Pet.  v.  3 ;  however,  the  elders  were 
soon  called  distinctively  by  this  name,  either  because  they 
were  chosen  by  lot,  in  which  it  was  thought  the  immediate 
guidance  of  God  was  to  be  recognized,  (Acts  i.  24-26,)  or 
because  God  himself,  as  Jerome  profoundly  explains  it,  (Bp- 
ii.,  ad.  Hejiot.,)  desired  himself  to  be  the  lot,  that  is  to  say, 
the  heritage  of  the  Levites;  or,  lastly,  because  they  arc 
themselves  in  a  peculiar  sense  the  property  of  God.  Imme- 
diately after  the  apostolic  age,  all  those  who  were  devoted  to 
the  service  of  the  Church,  either  for  teaching,  or  in  any 
other  way,  were  designated  by  the  term  KXrjpiKoi. ;  the  other 
Christians  by  the  term  XaiKoi,  (belonging  to  the  people,)  or 
ftntiriKot,  {secidares,  pertaining  to  common  life,)  and  idiojrac, 
{j)rivafi,)  or  KavoviKol,  a  word  derived  from  Kdvo)v,  the  list 
of  members  belonging  to  the  community,  but  then  used  in  a 
different  sense  from  that  which  subsequently  prevailed.  The 
most  ancient  proof  that  we  possess  of  tliis  is  the  following 
passage  in  the  first*  letter  of  Clemens  Romanus,  No.  40,  (the 
authenticity  of  this  letter  being  assumed  :)  koI  Xevtrai^  'I6i.at. 
SiaKoviai  t:mKetvrat,  b  XaiKug  dvOpo)7rog  ToTg  XaiKolg  rrpoo- 
Tayjiamv  d^derav.  lie  there  recommends  order  in  eccle- 
siastical rites,  and  makes  the  Upelg  subordinate  to  the 
dpxie.pevg.  The  difference  is  still  more  striking  in  the  epis- 
tles attributed  to  his  contemporary,  Ignatius,  who,  it  is  known, 
CMcn  then  professed  the  principles  of  a  hierarchy.     Clement 


378  APPENDIX. 

of  Alexandria  asserts  that  this  distinction  was  observable 
even  in  the  times  of  the  Apostle  John ;  and  the  writings  of 
TertuUian,  of  Origen,  of  Cyprian,  and  others,  confirm  this 
fact,  so  far  as  the  second  century  is  concerned.  In  the  Con- 
di, lllib.,  Jidelis  is  employed  synonymously  with  clericus. — 
Schwartz,  Kateclietik,  pp.  11,  12. 


NOTE  IV.     PAGE  73. 

FIRST   INDICATIONS    OF   THE    TENDENCY    TO    FORM    PASTORS 
INTO  A  CASTE. 

This  idea  of  the  universal  priesthood  was  one  deeply  rooted  in 
the  original  Christian  consciousness,  as  it  stood  in  essential 
connection  with  the  entire  peculiarity  of  the  Christian  stand- 
point, with  that  which  distinguishes  Christianity  from  all 
other  religions.  Christianity  has  broken  down  the  wall  of 
separation  between  priests  and  laity,  spiritual  and  secular 
persons.  By  Christ,  the  one  true  Priest,  all  who  believe  in 
him  are  consecrated  to  the  Heavenly  Father ;  as  his  brethren, 
they  become  priests  with  him,  connected  with  him  by  faith ; 
filled  through  him  by  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  they  rise  to  the 
heavenly  sanctuary,  whither  he  has  gone  before  them,  and  to 
which  he  has  opened  the  entrance  for  them;  hence  they 
need  no  human  being  as  a  priest  to  describe  for  them  the 
sanctuary,  which  is  revealed  to  them  no  more  in  shadows  and 
types,  but  in  truth  and  reality,  or  to  lead  them  as  children 
in  the  leading-strings  of  ordinances.  They  are  dependent 
on  no  one  to  deal  out  to  them  according  to  his  wisdom,  as 
steward  of  the  heavenly  treasures,  what  they  can  all  receive 
in  an  equal  manner  from  the  hands  of  Eternal  Love,  or  ^o 


APTENDIX.  879 

tell  them  what  it  is  necessary  for  them  to  know,  I'or  thoy  are 
all  taught  of  God.  They  learn  from  the  same  Spirit  who 
guides  into  all  truth,  and  have  the  same  inward  anointing; 
for  all  there  is  one  Spirit,  one  Divine  life,  one  faith,  one  hope, 
one  Redeemer,  who  alone  will  be  called  Master,  before  whom 
all  who  wish  to  be  regarded  as  his  disciples  must,  in  the 
same  manner,  confess  themselves  sinners,  in  order  to  receive 
redemption  and  sanctification  immediately  from  him  alone, 
and  not  from  or  through  any  man  whatever.  The  time  was 
gone  by  in  which  they  worshipped  dumb  idols,  as  they  were 
led  by  their  priests ;  thoy  had  now  attained  their  majority  in 
religion.  The  High-Priest  of  humanity  who  conducted  them, 
not  to  dumb  idols,  but  to  the  living  God,  led  them  not  blindly, 
but  gave  them  an  inward  light  which  never  forsook  them; 
one  Spirit  who  revealed  himself  in  manifold  gifts. 

As  no  particular  priestly  class  is  established  among  Chris- 
tians, but  all  are  comprehended  in  one  priestly  generation, 
so  also  the  priestly  office  and  the  worship  of  God  are  no 
longer  confined  to  this  or  that  special  act,  but  all  acts  arc 
now  considered  as  having  a  priestly  character,  as  a  kind  of 
Divine  service  for  the  worship  of  God  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
And  thus,  the  calling  pointed  out  to  every  Christian  by  his 
peculiar  station  which  God  has  assigned  him,  must  be  his 
special  priesthood.  Accordingly,  every  Christian,  in  virtue 
of  his  peculiar  nature,  animated  and  sanctified  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  as  the  common  principle  of  life  to  all  Christians,  re- 
ceives his  special  gifts  of  grace  to  operate  with  them  in  his 
own  particular  calling,  as  a  member  for  the  advantage  of  the 
whole  body. 

(Then  follow  facts  and  quotations  from  Justin  Martyr,  Ter- 
tuUian,  Irenajus,  and  Origen,  in  support  of  these  views.) 

While  the  oriental  theosophists  who  had  embraced  Chris- 
tianity  without  having   undergone  an   entire   revolution    in 


380  APPENDIX. 

tlieir  habits  of  thinking,  sought  to  transfer  to  Christianity  a 
marked  distinction,  belonging  to  the  ancient  oriental  systems 
of  religion,  of  a  higher  wisdom,  an  esoteric  priestly  doctrine, 
and  an  exoteric  popular  religion,  (the  Gnostics,  who  boasted 
of  a  higher  knowledge,  a  spiritual  Christianity,  compared 
with  the  multitude,  who  were  only  capable  of  a  faith  founded 
on  authority,)  the  Church,  on  the  contrary,  adhered  to  the 
principle  that  all  Christians,  in  virtue  of  their  one  faith  on 
the  one  crucified,  risen,  and  glorified  Saviour,  stood  with  one 
another  in  the  fellowship  of  a  higher  life,  so  that  all  true 
Christians  are  necessarily  enlightened  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
and  are,  in  truth,  spiritually-minded  men.  Against  the 
assumptions  of  the  theosophists,  Clement  of  Alexandria  vin- 
dicated the  universally  spiritual  character  of  all  true  Chris- 
tians. "  We  live  already ;  we  are  made  free  from  death. 
To  follow  Christ  is  already  salvation.  '  Whosoever  heareth 
my  words,  and  believeth  Him  who  sent  me,'  he  says,  '  hath 
everlasting  life,  and  cometh  not  into  condemnation,  but  hath 
passed  from  death  unto  life.'  Believing,  and  being  born 
again,  constitute  true  life;  for  God  does  nothing  by  halves. 
'  Ye  yourselves  are  taught  of  God,'  says  the  apostle,  1  Thess. 
iv.  9.  We  cannot  therefore  imagine  that  he  has  left  his  in- 
structions imperfect.  Whoever  is  born  again  and  enlight- 
ened, is  consequently  freed  from  darkness,  and  has  received 
the  light;  just  as  he  who  has  awoke  from  sleep  is  awake 
within ;  or  rather,  as  he  who  operates  for  a  cataract  does  not 
communicate  new  light  from  without  to  the  diseased  eye, 
since  he  has  nothing  of  the  kind,  but  has  only  taken  away 
an  obstacle  from  the  sight,  and  given  freedom  to  the  pupil 
of  the  eye,  so  also  we  are  freed  by  baptism  from  sin,  which, 
like  a  mist,  obstructs  the  rays  of  the  Divine  light;  and  the 
eye  of  the  mind,  by  which  alone  we  can  discern  what  is  di- 
vine, is  kept  free  from  obstructions,  when  the  Holy  Spirit 
flows  down  upon  us  from  heaven.     That  the  faith  of  the 


AITENDIX.  381 

gospel  is  the  one  universal  remedy  for  all  mankind,  is 
plainly  declared  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  when  he  says,  (Gal. 
iii.  28,  24,)  'Before  faith  came,  we  were  kept  under  the  law, 
shut  up  unto  the  faith  which  should  afterwards  be  revealed. 
Wherefore  the  law  was  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  unto 
Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith.'  Do  you  not 
hear  that  we  no  longer  stand  under  that  law  which  is  attended 
with  fear,  but  under  the  teacher  of  freedom,  the  Son  of 
God  ?  Then  he  adds  those  words  by  which  all  distinction 
of  persons  is  taken  away  :  *  For  ye  are  all  the  children  of  God 
through  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  !  For  as  many  of  you  as  have 
been  baptized,  have  put  on  Christ.  There  is  neither  Jew  nor 
Greek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  nor 
female ;  for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus.'  Therefore,"  he 
goes  on  to  say,  '^  there  are  not  in  Christianity  some  possessing 
a  higher  wisdom,  and  others  of  a  carnal  mind,  but  all  true 
Christians  are  freed  from  the  dominion  of  carnal  desires ;  they 
have  become  like  one  another  in  the  Lord,  and  a  clerical  body." 
As  the  introduction  of  such  distinctions  affecting  the  uni- 
versality and  equality  of  the  Christian  calling  tended,  on  the 
one  hand,  to  foster  spiritual  pride,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
lowered  the  requirements  of  Christianity  in  reference  to  the 
great  body  of  its  professors;  the  distinction,  diametrically 
opposed  to  the  genius  of  the  gospel,  of  a  higher  Christian 
perfection,  for  which  only  a  few  persons  withdrawn  from  the 
world  were  fitted,  and  a  common  Christianity,  which  allowed 
of  secular  engagements,  and  the  ties  of  domestic  life — this 
distinction  made  "the  way  that  leadeth  unto  life"  broad  for 
the  many,  which  our  Saviour  pronounces  ^^  narrow''  for  all 
without  exception.  We  learn  from  Clement  of  Alexandria 
that  there  were  persons  who  evaded  exhortations  to  greater 
earnestness  in  the  Christian  life,  by  the  excuse  "  that  they 
were  no  philosophers,  that  they  had  not  learned  to  read,  and 
could  not  even  read  the  IJiblc."    Clement  says  in  reply,  '<  If 


382  APPENDIX 

they  cannot  read,  this  will  be  no  excuse  for  them,  since  they 
can  hear  the  word  of  God ;  the  gospel  is  not  the  property  of 
the  worldly  wise,  but  of  those  who  are  wise  towards  God. 
The  scripture  of  the  gospel,  which  is  divine,  and  yet  can  be 
learned  by  the  illiterate,  is  love ;"  (that  is,  the  gospel  must 
evince  its  presence  in  the  hearts  of  all  Christians  alike  in  the 
Divine  powei',  vitally  and  efBcaciously  by  love.) — Neander's 
Memorials  of  Christian  Life,  Part  I.,  chap,  iv.,  pp.  44-52  : 
Bohn's  Standard  Library  Edition. 

Tertullian  expresses  himself  forcibly  on  the  subject  of  the 
universal  priesthood  of  all  Christians.  (Z)e  Monog.,  cvii.) 
He  sets  out  with  the  idea  that  Christians,  as  they  now  exist, 
are  such  as  the  priests  of  the  Old  Covenant  were.  The  spe- 
cial priesthood  of  Judaism  was  a  prophetic  image  of  the  uni- 
versal priesthood  of  Christianity.  {Pristina  Dei  lex  nos  in 
suis  sacerdotibus  proplietavit?)  Christ  has  called  us  to  the 
priesthood.  The  Chief  Sacrificer,  the  High -Priest  of  the 
Eternal  Father,  has  united  us  to  him  :  "  For  as  many  of  you 
as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ,"  Gal. 
iii.  27 ;  and,  accordingly,  we  are  made  "  kings  and  priests 
unto  God  and  his  Father." — Neander's  Memorials* 

Since  Christ  satisfied  once  for  all  that  religious  want,  from 
the  sense  of  which  a  priesthood  has  everywhere  originated — 
since  he  satisfied  the  sense  of  the  need  of  mediation  and  re- 
conciliation, so  deeply  seated  in  the  consciousness  of  the 
separation  from  God  by  sin,  there  was  no  longer  room  or  ne- 
cessity for  any  other  mediation.  If,  in  the  apostolic  epistles, 
the  Old  Testament  ideas  of  a  priesthood,  a  priestly  cultus 
and  sacrifices,  ai'e  applied  to  the  new  economy,  it  is  only  with 

*  I  have  been  unable  to  identify  this  quotation  with  any  passage 
in  the  translation  of  Neander's  Memorials  published  by  Bohn  ;  and 
as  I  have  access  neither  to  the  German  original,  nor  to  the  French 
version  from  which  M.  Vinet  quotes,  I  have  translated  from  the 
French  translation. — Tk. 


APPENDIX.  383 

the  design  of  showing  that,  since  Christ  has  for  ever  accom- 
plished that  which  the  priesthood  and  sacrijQices  iu  the  Old 
Testament  prefigured,  all  who  now  appropriate  by  faith  what 
he  effected  for  mankind,  stand  in  the  same  relation  with  one 
another  to  God,  without  needing  any  other  mediation ;  that 
they  arc  all,  by  communion  with  Christ,  dedicated  and  con- 
secrated to  God,  and  are  called  to  present  their  whole  lives 
to  God  as  an  acceptable,  spiritual  thank-offering,  and  thus 
their  whole  consecrated  activity,  in  a  true,  spiritual,  priestly 
cnltus.  Christians  forming  a  divine  kingdom  of  priests. 
Rom.  xii.  1 :  1  Pet.  ii.  9.  This  idea  of  the  general  priest- 
hood of  all  Christians,  proceeding  from  the  consciousness  of 
redemption,  and  grounded  alone  in  that,  is  partly  stated  and 
developed  in  express  terms,  and  partly  presupposed  in  the 
epithets,  images,  and  comparisons  applied  to  the  Christian 
life. — Neander's  Planting,  Book  III.,  chap.  v. 


NOTE  V.      PAGE  73. 
THE   UNIVERSAL    PRIESTHOOD    IN    THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 

Such  a  guild  of  priests  as  existed  in  the  previous  systems  of 
religion,  empowered  to  guide  other  men,  who  remained,  as  it 
were,  in  a  state  of  religious  pupilage,  having  the  ezdusive 
care  of  providing  for  their  religious  wants,  and  serving  as 
mediators  by  whom  all  other  men  must  first  be  placed  in  con- 
nection with  God  and  divine  things — such  a  priestly  caste 
could  find  no  place  within  Christianity.  In  removing  that 
which  separated  men  from  God,  in  communicating  to  all  the 
same  fellowship  with  God,  Christ  also  removed  the  barrier 
which  had  hitherto  divided  men  f rum  one  another :  Christ, 


384  APPENDIX- 

tlie  Prophet  and  High-Priest  for  entire  humanity,  was  the 
end  of  the  prophetic  office,  and  of  the  priesthood.  There 
was  now  the  same  High-Priest  and  Mediator  for  all,  through 
whom  all  men,  being  once  reconciled  and  united  with  God, 
are  themselves  made  a  priestly  and  spiritual  race ;  one  Hea- 
venly King,  Guide,  and  Teacher,  through  whom  all  are 
taught  of  God;  one  faith,  one  hope,  one  Spirit  which  should 
quicken  all ;  one  oracle  in  the  heart  of  all,  the  voice  of  the 
Spirit  proceeding  from  the  Father ;  all  were  to  be  citizens 
of  one  heavenly  kingdom,  with  whose  heavenly  powers,  even 
while  strangers  in  the  world,  they  should  be  already  fur- 
nished. .  .  .  There  was  no  distinction  here  of  spiritual 
and  secular;  but  all,  as  Christians,  should,  in  their  inner 
life,  in  temper  and  disposition,  be  dead  to  the  ungodlike,  to 
the  world,  and  so  far  separate  from  the  world — men  ani- 
mated by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  not  by  the  spirit  of  the 
world. 

The  essence  of  the  Christian  community  rested  on  this, 
that  no  one  individual  should  be  the  chosen,  preeminent 
organ  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  the  guidance  of  the  whole ;  but, 
for  the  advancement  of  the  Christian  life  and  of  the  common 
end,  all  were  to  cooperate — each  at  his  particular  position, 
and  with  the  gifts  bestowed  on  him,  one  supplying  what 
might  be  wanted  by  another.  .  .  .  The  edification  of  the 
Church,  in  this  sense,  was  the  common  work  of  all.  Even 
edification  by  the  word  was  not  assigned  exclusively  to  one 
individual ;  every  man  who  felt  the  inward  call  to  it  might 
give  utterance  to  the  word  in  the  assembled  Church. — 
Neander's  Church  History,  vol.  i.,  pp.  245-247 :  Clark's 
Foreign  Theological  Library  Edition. 


APPENDIX.  385 

NOTE   VI.     PAGE  85. 
ON     THE     DIGNITY     OF     THE     IMTNTSTRY. 

Moreover,  if  -we  weigh  all  things  in  the  balances  of 
justice,  we  shall  sec  that  there  is  no  king,  whatever  may  be 
the  pomp  that  surrounds  him,  who,  as  a  king,  is  not  in 
dignity  below,  I  will  not  say  a  bishop  only,  but  even  a 
simple  village  pastor,  (^vicani  pasioris,')  regarded  as  a  pastor. 
If  this  that  I  say  appears  a  paradox,  I  am  not  without 
arguments  that  shall  most  fully  establish  its  truth.  Wo 
have  only,  in  order  to  realize  the  fact,  to  cast  our  eyes  on 
the  functions  of  the  pastor  and  of  the  king  respectively. 
What  does  the  labor  of  princes  regard  ?  Is  it  not  that  evil- 
doers may  be  kept  dow'n  by  the  vigilance  of  law,  and  that 
the  good  may  not  be  disturbed  ?  that  is  to  say,  so  to  act  that 
the  persons  and  property  of  the  citizens  of  the  state  shall  be 
in  safety?  But  how  much  more  excellent  is  the  aim  of  the 
minister  of  the  gospel,  who  desires  to  establish  in  each  indi- 
vidual soul  the  sercnest  tranquillity,  by  quieting  and  sub- 
duing the  lusts  of  the  world  !  The  king's  labors  are  intended 
to  secure  that  the  state  shall  live  at  peace  with  its  neighbors; 
thfc  priest's  aim  is  that  every  one  may  be  at  peace  with  God, 
that  each  may  possess  peace  within,  and  that  no  one  may 
have  it  in  his  heart  to  injure  another. 

The  prince  designs  to  protect  the  house,  lands,  and  cattle 
of  particular  persons  from  the  violence  of  depredators.  Sco 
how  mean  is  the  aim  of  the  royal  office  !  But  what  docs  the 
priest  design  ?  To  defend  the  property  of  the  souls  in- 
trusted to  him,  their  faith,  their  charity,  their  temperance, 
their  purity,  against  the  assaults  of  the  devil ;  property 
which  confers  happiness  on  those  who  possess  it,  and  the 
loss  of  which  plunges  them  into  the  direst  misfortune. 
13 


386  APPENDIX. 

What  can  wc  receive  from  the  prince's  liberality?  Reve- 
nues, appointments,  titles  of  honor;  transient  wealth,  the 
sj^ort  of  fortune.  But  what  may  we  not  receive  at  the 
hands  of  the  priest?  He  administers  celestial  grace  through 
the  eflBcacy  of  the  Church's  sacraments  :  by  baptism,  he 
renders  the  children  of  all  inheritors  of  the  heavenly  king- 
dom ;  by  his  sacred  anointing,  he  gives  to  the  soul  strength 
to  resist  the  assaults  of  devils;  by  the  holy  eucharist,  he 
unites  men  to  one  another  and  to  God,  to  form  themceforward 
only  one  body ;  by  the  sacrament  of  penance,  he  gives  life 
to  the  dead,  and  freedom  to  the  slave;  lastly,  from  the 
treasury  of  the  Scriptures  he  draws  every  day  the  nourish- 
ment of  the  truths  of  salvation,  which  refresh  and  strengthen 
the  soul!  The  priest  offers  a  spiritual  beverage,  which 
indeed  rejoices  the  heart;  he  presents  a  remedy  which  can 
cure  the  mortal  diseases  of  the  soul,  and  an  efficient  antidote 
to  the  terrible  venom  of  the  old  serpent.  In  one  word,  all 
that  comes  under  the  management  of  the  prince  is  earthly 
and  transient ;  but  that  which  occupies  the  pastor  is  Divine, 
celestial,  eternal.  And,  therefore,  as  much  difference  aa 
there  is  between  the  heaven  and  the  earth,  between  the  body 
and  the  soul,  between  temporal  goods  and  eternal  possessions, 
so  much  difference  is  there  between  the  functions  committed 
to  the  king  and  the  trust  devolved  on  the  priest. — Erasmus, 
Ecclesiastcs,  Lib.  i. 


NOTE  VII.     TAGES  154  AND  164. 
ON     PRAYER. 

Bacon's  Prayer. — This  invocation,  which  shows  a  Chris- 
tian simplicity  that  is  very  touching  in  so  great  a  man,  says 
31.  dc  Chateaubriand,  became  afterwards  his  habitual  prayer 


APPENDIX.  .         387 

when  he  entered  into  his  study.  It  is  called  The  Student's 
I'rayer  : 

"  To  God  the  Father,  God  the  Word,  God  the  Spirit,  we 
pour  forth  most  humble  and  hearty  supplications;  that  he, 
remembering  the  calamities  of  mankind,  and  the  pilgrimage 
of  this  our  life,  in  which  we  wear  out  days  few  and  evil, 
would  please  to  open  to  us  new  refreshments  out  of  the 
fountain  of  his  goodness,  for  th^  alleviating  of  our  miseries. 
This  also  we  humbly  and  earnestly  pray,  that  human  things 
may  not  prejudice  such  as  are  Divine;  neither  that  from  the 
unlocking  of  the  gates  of  sense,  and  the  kindling  of  a  greater 
natural  light,  any  thing  of  incredulity,  or  intellectual  night, 
may  arise  in  our  minds  towards  Divine  mysteries.  But 
rather  that,  by  our  mind  thoroughly  cleansed  and  purged 
from  fancies  and  vanities,  and  yet  subject  and  perfectly 
given  up  to  the  Divine  oracles,  there  may  be  given  to  faith 
the  things  that  are  faith's.  Amen." — Bacon's  Works,  Mon- 
tagu's  Edition,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  8,  9. 

The  prayer  of  Bacon,  which  we  have  given  here,  is  varied 
in  a  somewhat  remarkable  manner  in  the  preface  to  his 
Jnstauratio  31agna :  "  We,  in  the  beginning  of  this  our 
work,  pour  forth  most  humble  and  ardent  prayers  to  God  the 
Father,  God  the  Word,  and  God  the  Spirit,  that,  mindful 
of  the  cares  of  man,  and  of  his  pilgrimage  through  this  lil'e, 
in  which  we  wear  out  some  few  and  evil  days,  thou  wouldst 
vouchsafe,  through  our  hands,  to  endow  the  family  of  man 
with  these  new  gifts ;  and  we,  moreover,  humbly  pray  that 
human  knowledge  may  not  prejudice  Divine  truth,  and  that 
no  incredulity  and  darkness  in  regard  to  the  Divine  myste- 
ries may  arise  in  our  mind  from  the  disclosing  of  the  ways 
of  sense,  and  this  greater  kindling  of  our  natural  light;  but 
rather  that,  from  a  pure  understanding,  cleansed  from  all 
fancies  and  vanity,  yet  no  less  submitted  to,  yea  prostrate 
before,  the  Divine  oracles,  we  may  render  unto  faith  the 


S88        .  APPENDIX. 

tribute  due  unto  ftxitli ;  and,  lastly,  that  bcino-  freed  from  the 
poison  of  knowledge,  infused  into  it  by  the  serpent,  and 
with  which  the  human  soul  is  swollen  and  puifed  up,  we 
may  neither  be  too  profoundly  nor  immoderately  wise,  but 
worship  truth  in  charity." — Works,  vol.  ix.,  p.  106;  xvi., 
p.  ecccxxxiv. 

Kepler's  Prayer. — "  It  remains  only  that  I  should  now 
lift  up  to  heaven  my  eyes  and  hands  from  the  table  of  my 
pursuits,  and  humbly  and  devoutly  supplicate  the  Father  of 
lights.  0  Thou  who  by  the  light  of  nature  dost  enkindle  in 
us  a  desire  after  the  light  of  grace,  that  by  this  thou  mayst 
translate  us  into  a  light  of  glory :  I  give  thee  thanks,  O 
Lord  and  Creator,  that  thou  hast  gladdened  me  by  thy 
creation,  when  I  was  enraptured  by  the  work  of  thy  hands. 
Behold,  I  have  here  completed  a  work  of  my  calling,  with  as 
much  of  intellectual  strength  as  thou  hast  granted  me.  I 
have  declared  the  praise  of  thy  works  to  the  men  who  will 
read  the  evidences  of  it,  so  far  as  my  finite  spirit  could 
apprehend  them  in  their  infinity.  My  mind  endeavored  by 
its  utmost  to  reach  the  truth  by  philosophy;  but  if  any 
thing  unworthy  of  thee  has  been  taught  by  me — a  worm, 
born  and  nourished  in  sin — do  thou  teach  me,  that  I  may 
correct  it.  Have  I  been  seduced  into  presumption  by  the 
admirable  beauty  of  thy  works,  or  have  I  sought  my  own 
glory  among  men,  in  the  construction  of  a  work  designed 
for  thine  honor  ?  0,  then,  graciously  and  mercifully  forgive 
me;  and,  finally,  grant  me  this  favor,  that  this  work  may 
never  be  injurious,  but  may  conduce  to  thy  glory  and  the 
good  of  souls." — Quoted  in  Bucldand's  Bridgewater  Treatise, 
p.  10. 

De  Tiiou's  Prayer. — ''The  historian  relates,  that  every 
morning,  besides  the  prayer  which  each  believer  is  required 


APPENDIX.  889 

to  make  to  the  Lord,  he  offered  his  special  petitions  for 
purification  of  heart,  the  banishment  of  all  hatred  and 
flattery,  tlic  enlightenment  of  his  mind,  and  tried  to  know, 
through  all  the  obscurities  of  passion,  the  truth,  which  had 
been  almost  eclipsed  by  contending  interests.  It  is  gratify- 
ing to  find  such  relations  between  contemporary  authors." — 
Dc  Vauzelles'  Ilistori/  of  Bacon,  vol.  i.,  p.  107,  Note. 

Sacerdotal  Prayer. — Prayer  is  the  duty  which  is,  of 
all  others,  the  one  most  intimately  associated  with  the 
ministry ;  it  is,  so  to  speak,  the  soul  of  the  priesthood ;  it  is 
the  pastor's  only  security ;  it  alone  can  mitigate  that  which 
is  distasteful,  and  anticipate  that  which  is  dangerous  in  your 

office ;  it  alone  can  insure  success But,  my  brethren, 

even  if  prayer  were  not  as  essential  as  it  really  is  to  the 
success  of  our  labors,  do  we  not  owe  it  to  our  people  ?  arc 
we  not  bound,  by  our  position  as  pastors  and  ministers,  to 
''  pray  without  ceasing"  for  them  ?  is  not  this  the  most 
essential  duty  belonging  to  that  priesthood  which  has  consti- 
tuted us  the  mediators  between  God  and  the  people  ?  It  is 
with  the  prayer  of  the  pastor  that  God  generally  connects 
the  graces  that  are  destined  for  the  flock ;  it  is  ours,  my 
brethren,  to  represent  unremittingly  to  him  the  necessities 
of  our  people,  to  a.sk  for  them  the  riches  of  Divine  mercy,  to 
avert  those  strokes  and  chastisements  from  his  anger  with 
which  their  sins  are  often  punished;  it  is  ours  to  lament 
before  him  for  the  vices  with  which  we  see  our  people  are 
infected,  and  M'hich,  by  our  cares  and  our  zeal,  we  are 
unable  to  correct ;  it  is  ours  to  ask  strength  for  the  feeble, 
relenting  for  the  obdurate,  perseverance  for  the  just.  The 
more  sensible  we  are  that  the  wants  of  our  pcoi)lc  are 
infinite,  the  more  earnest  and  frequent  should  our  prayers 
become ;  we  ought,  like  the  High-Priest  under  the  law, 
never  to  appear  before  him  without  bearing  the  names  of 


890  APPENDIX. 

the  tribes  ■written  on  our  heart — that  is,  the  names  of  the 
people  who  are  intrusted  to  us :  always  should  this  be  the 
principal  subject  of  our  prayer.  —  Massillon's  Twelfth 
Synodical  Discourse,  On  the  Necessity  of  Prayer. 

Same  Subject. — Let  prayer  accompany  all  your  toils; 
speak  to  God  of  the  moral  disorders  of  your  people  even 
oftener  than  to  themselves ;  complain  to  him  oftener  of  the 
obstacles  which  your  own  unfaithfulness  opposes  to  their 
conversion,  than  of  those  which  may  be  caused  by  their 
obduracy ;  take  with  you,  when  you  approach  his  footstool 
alone,  the  few  results  of  your  ministry;  like  a  tender  father, 
excuse  the  faults  of  your  children  when  in  his  presence,  and 
accuse  only  yourself.  ....  — Massillon's  Discoxirse  on  the 
Zeal  of  Pastors  for  the  Salvation  of  Souls. 


NOTE  VIII.— PAGE  282. 
ON     THE     USE     OF     THE     CATECHISM. 

The  decline  of  Christian  beliefs  has  had  no  more  direct 
cause  and  no  more  unequivocal  symptom  than  the  absolute 
substitution  of  the  catechism  for  the  Bible  in  the  religious 
instruction  of  childhood ;  and  the  revival  of  Christianity  in 
Protestant  countries  has  necessarily  been  both  caused  and 
characterized  by  the  preference  given  to  the  Bible  above  the 
catechism — not  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  the  latter,  but  to 
its  appointment  to  the  only  rational  use  that  can  be  made  of 
it,  as  a  compend  of  biblical  truth  for  the  reader  of  the  Bible. 
When  the  Bible  shall  be  restored  to  its  appropriate  place  in 
the  education  of  the  young,  the  necessity  will  be  felt  for 


APPENDIX.  391 

Koiuc  rcvLsioii  of  the  catechism ;  and  only  those  will  do  this 
well  who  have  bccu  previously  instructed  in  Bible  Chris- 
tianity; we  think  we  can  guarantee  that  this  description  of 
manual  will  be  henceforth  designed  and  drawn  up  difiercntly 
from  the  best  of  those  which  have  been  hitherto  employed. 
But  the  most  pressing  necessity  is,  that  those  unhappy 
children  should  be  brought  to  the  source  and  allowed  tc 
drink  irom  it,  to  whom,  as  yet,  the  water  of  life  has  been 
administered  drop  by  drop,  like  a  medicinal  potion,  en- 
feebled, and  even  corrupted,  by  its  passage  through  these 
long  and  antiquated  tubes  of  human  construction. 

When  it  shall  no  longer  be  that  several  authorized  cate- 
chisms, which  have  been  consecrated  by  long  use,  arc  con- 
structed in  violation  of  all  logic  and  common  sense,  and 
present  Christian  doctrines  in  a  state  of  incoherence,  such  as 
robs  them  of  their  true  significance,  and  of  contradiction,  so 
that  one  part  is  contradicted  by  the  other — in  short,  when 
catechisms  shall  come  to  be  as  good  as  they  can  be,  it  will 
not  be  the  less  necessary  to  take  from  them  the  place  which 
they  have  usurped,  and  to  restore  it  to  the  first  of  cate- 
chisms— the  Holy  Scriptures.  But  this  does  not  imply  that 
we  should  put  the  Bible  into  the  hands  of  children ;  this  is 
neither  proper  nor  convenient.*  The  idea,  therefore,  of 
extracting  literally  from  it  all  that  it  is  indispensable  to 
know  in  order  to  become  a  Christian,  has  been  suggested ; 
that  is,  to  extract  all  that  is  level  to  the  capacity  of  children. 
Such,  in  fact,  is  the  system  according  to  which  this  divine 
book  has  been  conceived :  "  It  is  a  river,"  it  has  been  said, 
"  in  which  an  elephant  may  swim,  and  a  brook  which  an 
infant  may  cross  without  losing  his  footing."     The  question 

[*  This  depends  upon  the  age  and  mental  development  of  children. 
Wc  have  never  known  any  evil  to  result  from  the  perusal  of  the  Bible 
by  children.— T.  0.  S.] 


392  APPENDIX. 

is  not  wliether  we  sliall  swim  rather  tlian  walk,  but  wliether 
we  shall  cross;  and  the  infant  must  cross  as  well  as  the 
adult.  And  even  he,  in  order  to  become  a  Christian,  or,  to 
use  the  expression  of  our  Lord,  to  "  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,"  must  return  to  infancy,  must  make  himself  a 
little  child.  I  admit  that  this  is  a  voluntary  childhood,  and 
that  on  this  account  it  is  so  precious  and  efficacious;  the 
child  himself  is  not  fully  and  entirely  a  Christian  until 
when,  having  ceased  to  be  a  child  in  the  proper  sense  of  the 
term,  he  becomes  so  by  choice  and  by  reason ;  but  not  the 
less  true  is  it  still  that,  in  order  to  become  a  Christian,  we 
must  accept  the  truths  of  the  Bible  in  the  sense  and  sim- 
plicity with  which  a  little  child  accepts  them. — A.  Vinet : 
Article  on  M.  MorcVs  Histoire  Saintc,  extraitc  de  la  Bible. 
Semeur,  1840 :  vol.  ix.,  p.  213. 


NOTE  IX.     PAGE  370. 


■  '(-• 


BENGEL  S   THOUGHTS    ON    THE   EXERCISE  OP  THE  MINISTRY. 
>^  TAKEN   FEOM    HIS    LIFE    BY    BUEK. 

Pamphlet  published  by  M.  Vinet  in  1842, 

1.  A  pastor  ought  to  be  divinely  sure  of  his  office,  that  is, 
of  his  vocation  to  the  ministry  of  reconciliation,  as  well  as  of 
the  truths  which  he  preaches ;  he  must  be  able  to  produce  his 
title  to  a  second  birth  ;  he  must  be  firmly  resolved  to  advance 
the  glory  of  God ;  to  live  for  Christ  and  to  serve  him,  to 
gain  heaven  for  himself  and  for  many  others  with  him. 

2.  A  pastor  should  give  himself  entirely  to  his  work,  en- 
tering resolutely  into  the  midst  of  his  duties,  and  not  allow- 


A  p  p  i;  N  D  I  X  .  393 

ing  himself  to  bo  discouraged  by  any  tiling  that  may  arise. 
In  order  to  this  he  must  remember : 

a.  That  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  gospel  will  always 
result,  sooner  or  later,  in  the  conversion  of  sinners  and  the 
joy  of  angels ;  and  that  one  single  grain  of  wheat,  even  after 
it  has  been  long  expected,  is  a  great  joy  to  him  who  has 
sown. 

b.  That  crosses  and  failures  aid  us  in  self-knowledge,  make 
us  humble  before  God,  and  willing  to  ask  with  the  greater 
earnestness  for  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  which  can  silence 
and  subdue  all  doubts. 

c.  That  God  does  not  show  less  patience  towards  those  who 
have  received,  believed,  and  who  declare  the  message  of  grace. 
How  long  a  time  must  he  wait  before  he  receives  from  them 
any  thing  that  is  conformed  to  his  purposes !  With  what 
wisdom  he  guides  them,  in  order  that  he  may  draw  some  good 
thing  out  of  so  much  feebleness  and  impurity !  And  shall 
not  they  themselves  wait  patiently  ? 

d.  That  it  is  not  the  pastor's  fault  if  he  is  born  in  times 
of  barrenness,  when  it  is  difficult  to  do  good  :  when  fierce 
injustice  has  trampled  the  weak  under  foot,  and  devoured  the 
substance  of  the  poor,  it  is  no  marvel  that  preaching  is  inef- 
fective j  when  authority  even,  when  it  recognizes  evil,  takes 
little  trouble  to  remedy  it,  and  sees  without  any  compunction 
the  great  absorbing  the  small. 

c.  That  God  has  placed  a  mark  on  all  those  who  sigh  over 
the  abundance  of  public  sins,  that  they  may  be  untouched  by 
the  punishment  which  shall  ensue.     Ezck.  ix.  4. 

/.  That  a  pastor  strengthens  himself  with  that  which  is 
effected  by  others  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  when  he  rejoices 
with  humility  in  the  good  that  is  effected  without  him.  By 
this  joy  he  appropriates  to  himself  the  labors  of  others,  while, 
at  the  same  time,  he  avoids  the  dangers  attending  the  gratifi- 
cation of  his  own  wishes. 


394  APPENDIX. 

g.  That  even  where  souls  are  not  positively  won  hy  a  truly 
gospel  preaching,  they  are  yet  somewhat  softened  and  pre- 
pared by  their  clear  knowledge  of  spiritual  things.  H. 
Franke  testifies,  after  long  experience,  that  the  parishioners 
of  a  brave  and  devoted  pastor  always  become  ultimately  more 
tractable  and  gentle. 

When  God  grants  a  richer  harvest  to  a  pastor,  it  does  not 
therefore  follow  that  the  pastor  himself  is  more  acceptable  to 
him  than  others  are.  Surgeons  have  various  instruments; 
some  are  in  use  every  day,  others  only  rarely,  and  for  special 
cases ;  they  have  no  preference  for  one  of  these  instruments 
above  the  other.  It  is  only  the  last  blow  of  the  axe  that 
makes  the  tree  fall ;  and  if  one  has  given  fifty  strokes,  an- 
other thirty,  a  third  only  two,  who  shall  tell  which  of  the 
workmen  has  been  most  useful,  and  which  of  the  strokes  has 
contributed  most  to  bring  down  the  tree  ?  So  it  is  with  the 
work  which  is  done  for  souls. 

3.  A  pastor  ought  to  be  like  a  hen  that  takes  her  brood 
under  her  wings,  and  which  sometimes  allows  them  to  mount 
on  her  back.  Confidence  and  familiarity  cannot  be  forced ; 
only  charity  can  bring  them  ]  amicable  intercourse  often 
does  more  good  than  many  reasonings  and  sermons.  When 
the  sun  shines  warmly,  the  traveller  looses  his  garments  of 
his  own  accord.  A  single  pigeon  which  comes  spontaneously 
to  the  tamer  is  worth  more  than  a  large  number  which  are 
brought  to  him  by  force.  It  will  be  happy  for  all  if  the  pas- 
tor habitually  engages  in  familiar  questionings  and  conversa- 
tions. I  believe  that  this  is  possible  even  in  the  case  of  un- 
converted persons. 

4.  The  pastor  ought  not  entirely  to  avoid  intercourse  with 
men  of  the  world  ;  but  he  should  be  careful  not  to  take  part 
in  their  sins.  To  testify  in  the  freedom  of  conversation  to 
the  same  truths  which  are  solemnly  taught  in  the  pulpit, 
makes  a  greater  impression  on  the  minds  of  men  than  they 


APPENDIX.  395 

will  allow  us  to  observe.  Much  of  the  seed  which  wc  scatter 
may  be  lost,  but  yet  something  remains.  When  it  snows, 
and  the  earth  is  moist,  the  snow  as  long  as  it  falls  seems  to 
be  absorbed  by  the  earth,  but,  by  continual  falling,  it  ulti- 
mately forms  a  white  covering  for  the  earth  :  Sparge,  sparge, 
ijiiam  pofes. 

5.  The  pastor  has  reason  to  be  anxious  for  himself  when 
he  does  not  seek  to  live  in  communion  with  true  Christians. 
His  works  gradually  degenerate  into  a  regular  trade;  and 
there  are  many  who  carry  it  on  as  advantageously  as  any 
other  trade,  or  who  leave  it  in  order  to  gain  worldly  wealth, 
although,  in  truth,  we  cannot  name  many  pastors  who  have 
become  enriched  by  their  calling.  Godly  souls  are  the  hand 
of  the  pastor;  he  himself  is  the  eye;  the  hand  may  carry, 
push,  relieve,  and  be  very  useful  to  the  eye. 

6.  Experience  teaches  us  that  many  souls  can  be  affected 
by  preaching,  in  a  very  salutary  manner,  but  the  work  of 
grace  is  not  fully  carried  on  in  them  unless  by  means  of  in- 
dividual treatment ;  accordingly,  private  labors  must  be  espe- 
cially regarded.  The  pastor  often  gains  richer  and  more 
plentiful  fruit  from  his  visits  than  from  his  public  preaching. 
He  should  always  show  himself  equally  disposed  to  go  wher- 
ever he  may  be  called,  and  those  whose  spiritual  necessities 
urge  them  to  come  to  him,  ought  to  feel  themselves  encour- 
aged by  his  cordial  reception  to  communicate  with  him  with 
entire  freedom ;  also,  he  should  show  a  pleasure  when  he 
meets  with  neighbors  in  the  houses  which  he  visits. 

7.  The  principal  rule  to  be  observed  by  the  pastor  in  the 
guidance  of  souls  is  to  do  nothing  from  his  own  will,  and  to 
do  every  thing  that  he  knows  to  be  the  will  of  God.  Those 
souls  from  wbom  he  hopes  some  good  results,  should  be  ap- 
proacbed  at  times  when  (hoy  are  calm  and  untroubled.  Those 
who  revolt  and  are  obstinate,  must  always  be  reminded  of  the 
word  of  God.     Ho  should  seek  to  present  the  subject  of 


396  APPENDIX. 

■which  he  treats  in  an  agreeable  manner,  beginning  with  in- 
different matters,  and  gradually  leading  the  iuterlocntors  to 
respond  without  having  been  formally  questioned.  When  he 
has  an  opportunity  of  seeing  persons  every  day,  he  should 
wait  for  some  favorable  occasion ;  but  if  opportunities  are 
rare,  or  if  he  has  only  one  opportunity,  he  must  be  careful 
not  to  let  that  pass  without  bearing  witness  to  the  truth.  If 
such  persons  should  die,  this  would  cause  great  anxiety  to 
the  pastor  who  should  have  neglected  to  testify  of  the  gospel 
to  them;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  how  will  he  rejoice  if  he 
has  been  enabled  to  be  faithful !  However,  he  must  not 
abandon  himself  to  anxiety,  which  is  a  great  evil.  Let  him 
in  all  things  act  with  God,  and  not  with  himself  alone,  that 
he  may  afterwards  be  able  to  say,  ''  I  have  done,  O  God,  ac- 
cording as  thou  hast  appointed."  Then,  certainly,  he  will 
receive  a  Divine  answer  at  the  time  of  need.  One  single 
word,  one  look,  one  ray  of  light,  may  effect  great  things  in  a 
soul,  if  we  have  found  the  right  point  and  the  proper  mo- 
ment. On  one  occasion  it  was  said  to  a  man  whose  wife  was 
ill,  "  You  have  now  a  sanctuary  in  your  house."  This  sen- 
tence remained  with  him  and  did  much  good.  It  is  a  great 
gift  to  be  able  to  utter  forcible  and  sententious  words  which 
strike  forcibly. 

8.  When  our  aim  is  to  bring  souls  to  God,  nothing  ought 
to  be  despised;  however  numerous  they  are,  we  must  show 
that  we  regard  it  as  of  the  highest  importance  that  they 
should  be  brought  to  the  Lord. 

9.  Do  not  absolutely  despise  any  one.  If  any  one  has  u 
fault,  contrive  that  he  shall  know  it,  and  endeavor  to  induce 
him  to  correct  it;  and,  whether  you  succeed  or  not,  strive 
to  discover  and  develop  whatever  there  is  that  is  good  in 
him. 

10.  It  is,  I  believe,  very  important  not  to  accumulate  argu- 
ments and  materials,  mixing  up  the  feeble  with  the  strong,  in 


APPENDIX.  397 

order  to  multiply  the  number  of  them.  This  is  only  an  injury 
to  both.  It  is  much  better  to  bring  forward  a  decisive  argu- 
ment and  abide  by  it. 

11.  There  are  souls  which,  in  proportion  as  our  urgency 
and  our  efforts  to  penetrate  them  increase,  seem  to  present 
less  hold  for  us,  and  to  escape  our  grasp  as  a  subtile  vapor. 
We  must  wait  patiently  for  them,  and  be  content  that  some 
time  should  pass  before  the  fruits  of  our  ministry  are  appa- 
rent. The  state  of  jmsftivit^  spoken  of  by  Tauler  and  others, 
is  too  little  known  by  those  who  desire  to  precipitate  their 
own  movements  and  those  of  others.  In  such  a  state  it  some- 
times happens  that  greater  things  are  produced  in  a  soul  in  a, 
single  moment  than  are  eifected  in  others  by  several  months, 
and  this  is  much  more  sure  and  lasting  than  a  forced  and 
factitious  success.  There  are  souls  for  which  it  is  good,  be- 
cause of  the  temptations  of  the  evil  world,  to  remain  to  tho 
time  of  their  death  in  an  undeveloped  state,  as  gcrm^,  and 
who  are  not  manifested  and  do  not  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  till  the  moment  of  their  departure.  It  is  right 
that  those  who  have  the  care  of  souls  should  be  apprised  of 
this,  for  their  consolation.  Let  us  do  what  wc  can  siiaviter, 
and  leave  the  rest  to  the  chief  Shepherd,  saying,  with  iMoses, 
"  Have  I  conceived  this  people  ?  Have  I  begotten  them  ?" 
Num.  xi.  12. 

12.  It  is  very  necessary  that  the  pastor  shotild  have  the 
gift  of  discernment.  Wherever  there  is  a  true  life,  it  can 
sustain  itself.  But  when  the  pastor  is  continually  desiring 
to  review  his  people,  and  lead  them  to  start  afresh,  they  will 
become  indifferent  and  idle.  The  venerable  Abraham  (who 
lived  in  the  fourth  century  of  the  Christian  era)  was  accus- 
tomed to  leave  those  whom  he  influenced  as  soon  as  he  had 
brought  them  to  say,  "  I  believe  in  God  the  Father,  and  in 
hi.s  Son,  Jesus  Christ."  Christ  himself  said  to  his  disciples, 
"  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away;"  and  the  eunuch 


308  ArrENDix. 

of  Queen  Candace  was  left  alone  as  soon  as  he  had  been  bap- 
tized. If  I  had  a  tree  which  I  was  always  cutting,  whose 
roots  I  was  continually  exposing,  I  do  not  think  it  would 
prosper  the  more  for  my  pains.  As  a  child  who  is  beginning 
to  walk  is  never  so  sure  of  falling  as  when  you  call  out  to  it, 
''Don't  fall,"  so  it  is  when  we  would  forcibly  obtain  from 
souls  actus  rejiexos — when  we  incite  them  to  great  efforts,  in 
order  to  obtain  a  distinct  consciousness  of  their  being  in  a 
state  of  grace,  and  of  having  made  progress  in  sanctifieation. 
There  are  souls  whose  activity  consists  solely  in  actihiis  di- 
rect is — in  free  action  which  anticipates  faith  and  love.  These 
are  they  which  advance  the  most  surely,  and  if  wc  attempt 
clumsily  to  urge  them  onward,  we  shall  only  intimidate  and 
bewilder  them.  There  are  others,  doubtless,  who  require  to 
be  urged  on,  and  therefore  we  must  ask  and  seek  for  a  dis- 
cerning mind. 

13.  What  is  the  thing  that  is  most  essential  to  the  pas- 
torate ?  It  is  that  which  is  so  often  spoken  of  in  the  Psalms — 
Josher  (^^'') — uprightness.  We  may  compare  it  to  a  straight 
line,  in  which  there  is  nothing  oblique,  nothing  double; 
which  is  free  from  all  variations  of  ascent  and  descent, 
and  which  advances  by  the  nearest  road  to  the  desired 
end. 

14.  Brothers  and  pastors  I  let  our  hearts  be  filled  with 
love  to  Christ.  This  love  alone  can  render  us  serious,  cou- 
rageous, active ;  by  this  alone  can  we  penetrate  into  the  real 
condition  of  a  soul,  and  discern  the  road  in  which  we  must 
guide  it.  We  must  form  much  closer  relations  between  our 
parishioners  and  ourselves,  ever  remembering  that  we  have  be- 
fore us  men  like  ourselves.  What  shall  we  do  in  times  of 
plague,  or  of  other  public  calamity  ?  Let  us,  at  such  times, 
associate  with  our  people,  and  identify  ourselves  with  them 
for  the  safety  of  the  whole,  without  calling  to  mind  the  empty 
distinctions  of  rank  or  of  talent.     If  wc  thus   act  with  one 


APPENDIX.  399 

man,  wc  may  hope,  in  a  sense,  to  make  him  onr  prisoner,  and 
to  lead  him  according  to  our  will. 

15.  I  would  willingly  leave,  to  each  soul  the  foundations 
of  his  own  special  faith ;  though  the  premises  are  feeble,  yet 
if  the  conclusion  is  just,  this  will  satisfy  one.  It  is  with 
man  as  with  a  child  who  makes  his  first  attempt  to  walk 
across  the  room,  and  clutches  hold  of  his  own  clothes  :  if  he 
advances,  wc  can  leave  him  to  his  imaginary  assistance. 
With  what  delicacy  ought  man  to  be  treated  !  If  we  stretch 
the  cord  too  tightly,  it  will  be  loosened  so  much  the  quicker, 
and  the  soul  will  cast  itself  in  that  direction  which  we  wished 
it  to  avoid.  •  ... 

17.  I  do  not  at  all  think  that  assemblies  are  to  be  inter- 
dicted. Must  then  each  man  be  forced  to  cultivate  a  solitary 
piety  ?  It  is  as  if,  seeing  many  persons  starting  on  a  common 
course,  I  should  advise  them  not  to  continue  together,  but 
each  to  front  the  coming  danger  alone. 

18.  Diseases  suppose  life.  When  a  spiritual  disease  ex- 
ists, there  spiritual  life  must  also  exist.  The  wicked  are 
entirely  dead.  Why  should  the  pastor  reject  or  treat  with 
severity  the  children  of  God  because  he  finds  in  them  some- 
thing to  rebuke  ?  Should  he  not  rather  be  the  more  eager 
to  associate  with  them,  and  to  offer  them  the  remedy  that 
they  require  ? 

19.  There  are  those  who  place  too  high  an  estimate  on 
meetings  for  worship,  and  who  appear  to  regard  themselves 
as  better  because  they  take  part  in  those  exercises.  But 
neither  arc  they  the  only  pious,  nor  are  those  uniformly  pious 
who  thus  meet.  There  are  excellent  souls  who  never  attend 
these  gatherings,  and  there,  as  everywhere  else,  hypocrites 
arc  to  be  found.  The  same  man  does  not  think  in  the  same 
way  as  spectator  that  he  does  as  judge.  Do  not  frustrate  the 
work  of  God.  Do  wc  not  leave  each  one  to  take  his  own  in- 
dividual course  in  common  life  i*     We  may  and  we  must  be 


400  APPENDIX. 

more  tolerant  of  small  things,  in  order  that  we  may  liave  the 
right  to  insist  on  great  things.  We  must  not  be  too  hasty  ia 
consoling  those  who  suffer  son\e  ill-treatment  from  the  world 
on  account  of  their  presence  at  our  assemblies;  this  may  be 
good  and  salutary  for  them. 

20.  Coolness  is  so  much  the  habit  of  these  days,  that  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  establish  between  pastor  and  people  that 
mutual  and  intimate  acquaintance  which  should  exist  in  a 
Church,  all  the  members  of  which  are  converted.  The  fa- 
vorable moment  has  not  come.  Many  things  are  necessary 
to  the  formation  of  a  true  community — much  intelligence 
and  experience.  A  community  ought  to  have  the  spirit  of 
discernment,  and  to  possess  members  able  to  guide  others ; 
without  this  they  would  seem  only  to  meet  for  mutual  dis- 
comfort. We  must  take  care  lest  fraternal  love  becomes  like 
a  comedy.  Alas  !  this  is  very  common ;  we  are  hypocrites 
to  one  another;  we  seek  to  please;  we  neglect  the  rebukes, 
warnings,  and  encouragements  of  Christian  love.  There  are 
those  among  us  who  possess  neither  humility,  charity,  nor 
any  thing  of  the  spirit  of  Christ ;  and  who  are  only  distin- 
guished by  their  zeal  in  forming  associations  and  meetings. 
Is  not  this  mere*omic  acting?  In  a  community  of  brethren 
there  must  be  communion  in  prayer ;  laws  to  which  all  are 
subject,  without,  however,  binding  the  individual  down  to 
particular  times  and  forms.  For  the  tighter  the  cord  is 
drawn,  the  sooner  it  is  broken.  There  are  those  who  only 
continue  because  they  have  begun,  and  in  order  to  avoid  the 
reproach  of  inconstancy.  The  more  that  spiritual  exercises 
and  intimacies  increase,  the  more  should  we  guard  against 
the  spirit  of  imitation.  What  should  we  think  of  two  tra- 
vellers, each  of  whom  has  his  own  path,  and  even  is  called 
upon  to  make  a  path  for  himself,  and  yet  one  of  whom  should 
invariably  tread  in  the  footsteps  of  the  other  ?  Can  they  not 
walk  near  enough  to  one  another,  while  each  keeps  to  his 


APPENDIX.  401 

owii  separate  path  ?  Wc  do  not  want  to  be  urged  on  by  ono 
another,  but  that  all  alike  should  be  urged  on  by  the  breath 
of  the  Lord.  But  there  are,  doubtless,  those  who  tend  con- 
tinually to  withdraw  farther  from  the  presence  of  God,  and 
to  take  courses  of  their  own.  Such  persons  always  become 
ccdder  and  more  indolent  in  their  Christianity ;  they  require 
to  be  constantly  looked  after,  and  never  left  alone.  .  He  who 
has  a  truly  vicious  faith  cannot  retain  it;  he  must  degene- 
rate. 

21.  Let  him  who  is  unable  to  check  prevailing  sins,  com- 
plain much  of  them  to  God,  and  give  his  calm  and  serious 
testimony  against  them  from  time  to  time,  not  heeding 
whether  he  is  listened  to  or  not.  The  pastor  ought  to  learn 
a  lesson  from  those  persons  who  protest  against  a  violation  of 
their  rights,  although  they  know  their  protest  will  be  una- 
vailing; he  ought  to  continue  his  witness  for  the  truth,  even 
when  no  one  seems  to  regard  it;  he  will  certainly  reap  in  due 
time,  and  while  he  waits  his  conscience  will  be  satisfied.  A 
river  continues  to  flow  whether  we  draw  water  from  it  or  cast 
stones  into  it. 

22.  As  to  all  that  is  evidently  opposed  to  the  law  of  God, 
the  preacher  ought  to  show  its  sin  as  seriously  and  clearly  as 
is  necessary,  in  order  that  each  may  understand  him,  and  not 
allow  himself  to  be  deterred  or  intimidated  by  the  fear  of 
men.  Moreover,  the  world  will  allow  bitter  truths  to  be 
spoken  to  it.  It  is  true  that  the  grief  and  humiliation  caused 
by  the  reproaches  of  others  often  issue  in  anger,  but  the  man 
is  soon  ashamed  of  his  anger;  he  soon  recovers  himself  and 
recognizes  the  truth.  Doubtless  all  rebuke  ought  to  be  ad- 
ministered prudently  ;  and  in  order  to  this  : 

a.  We  must  guard  against  evidently  useless  conversations  ; 
our  credit  depends  on  this ;  after  the  most  valiant  air-strokes, 
the  most  signal  triumphs  do  not  at  all  add  to  the  good  opinion 
of  men  concerning  us. 


402  APPENDIX. 

b.  Let  us  not  use  the  irritation  caused  by  truth  as  a  moans 
of  personal  offence  ;  whatever  touches  us  alone  will  glance  by 
us,  without  any  permanent  result. 

c.  Endeavor  to  find  the  right  moment;  nothing  is  so  irri- 
tating as  an  ill-timed  blow ;  we  do  not  feel  the  effect,  although 
we  recognize  the  intention,  and  it  gives  us  the  impression  of 
violence. 

d.  When  we  are  acquainted  with  the  past  sins  of  any  one, 
we  should  not  speak  of  them  to  him,  but  wait  and  see  whether 
he  falls  into  the  same  errors  again  ;  in  which  case  we  must 
regard  it  as  a  flagrant  transgression.  We  must  no^^  however, 
deal  with  mere  isolated  facts,  but  regard  the  general  state  of 
the  individual. 

e.  Show  impartiality,  kindness,  and  compassion.  If  we 
have  succeeded  in  making  the  sinner  feel  that  we  do  not  re- 
gard ourselves,  as  men,  above  him,  we  have  done  much 
towards  gaining  his  heart. 

/.  Let  us  be  as  conciliatory  as  possible  in  our  exhortations  : 
a  gilded  and  gentle  A^o  is  often  better  than  a  blunt  and  brutal 
Yes. 

g.  We  must  not  treat  all  men  indiscriminately  as  flagrant 
sinners ;  this  would  be  the  most  effective  way  of  promoting 
a  secret  pharisaism,  since  each  might  say  to  himself,  ''  I  am 
not  yet  so  bad  as  that ;  I  have  certainly  better  thoughts ;  my 
conduct  is  not  quite  so  depraved,"  etc. 

23.  In  things  which  may  be  classed  among  the  Adiaphora 
— things  indifl"erent — as  games,  dancing,  etc.,  it  often  hap- 
pens that  the  pastor  is  inclined  to  exaggerate,  and  to  draw 
the  cord  too  tightly.  We  must  not  judge  of  others  by  our- 
selves ;  we  cannot  give  them  our  own  eyes  and  our  manner 
of  seeing.  Persons  are  often  so  educated  that  their  hearts 
become  like  leather,  nay,  even  like  wood.  If  I  had  to  choose 
between  natural  gayety  and  the  sadness  of  an  unrepentant 
heart,  I  would  give  the  preference  to  the  former;  for  it  is  an 


ArrENDix.  403 

image — a  distorted  image,  to  be  sure — of  the  happiness  of 
God,  while  the  hitter  is  opposed  to  it.  We  sometimes  give  the 
name  of  siu  to  things  which  are  simply  forms  of  life,  and 
which  sometimes  have  the  advantage  of  preventing  the  out- 
break of  sin,  properly  so  ealled.  Doubtless  these  things  will 
not  be  imported  into  heaven ;  but  they  are  not  the  causes  of 
sorrow  when  repentance  comes.  The  repentant  sinner  is  ab- 
sorbed by  the  general  regret  that  arises  on  the  contemplation 
of  a  life  given  to  vanity.  Taste  for  worldly  pleasures  is  a 
natural  accompaniment  of  his  unconverted  state,  and  will 
vanish  with  that  state.  Wc  must  not,  then,  expect  too  much ; 
we  must  not  condemn  the  taste  for  dancing,  and  such  diver- 
sions, with  too  much  bitterness,  and  with  too  legal  a  spirit ; 
we  must  not  form  absolute  rules,  but  refer  men  to  their  own 
conscience,  induce  them  to  listen  to  its  suggestions,  and  per- 
suade them  to  abandon  those  things  which  they  can  only 
enjoy  with  an  internal  compunction.  Job  had  his  children 
under  his  control ;  yet  he  did  not  forbid  them  keeping  festival 
together,  but  he  prayed  for  them.  And  this  we  also  should 
do  most  assiduously  for  our  parishioners,  and  especially  in 
times  of  public  festival;  this  is  never  fruitless,  while  law 
provokes  anger. 

It  docs  not  follow  from  this  that  we  should  not  avail  our- 
selves of  opportunities  to  tell  our  people  what  we  think  on 
these  subjects ;  we  ought  to  represent  to  them  that  by  always 
pushing  their  liberty  to  an  extreme,  although  we  may  admit 
that  they  avoid  actual  sin,  yet  they  are  in  a  position  analogous 
to  that  of  those  who  walk  by  the  side  of  a  river,  and,  keep- 
ing their  feet  as  near  the  water  as  possible,  yet  profess  ever 
to  keep  on  the  brink  of  the  water,  and  never  to  fall  in. 
They  should  beware  lest  those  vanities,  pleasures,  and  follies 
cause  them  to  lose  their  part  in  heaven,  and  in  the  happiness 
which  oven  this  life  may  offer  to  them  ;  they  should  consider 
that  the  pleasure  which  (hey  find  in  these  things  is  the  sure 


404  APPENDIX. 

sign  of  an  iinregencrate  heart,  and  that  they  will  see  things 
in  quite  another  manner  when  God  has  influenced  their  soul 
by  his  Spirit,  etc. 

The  pastor  also  should  be  careful  not  to  judge  the  whole 
of  his  parish  by  the  disturbance  which  may  be  occasioned  by 
a  few  unruly  members  of  it.     Because  at  the  edge  of  a  pond 
we  only  hear  the  croaking  of  frogs,  we  must  not  therefore . 
conclude  that  there  are  no  fish  in  the  pond. 

24.  Not  only  in  the  pulpit,  but  in  special  and  private  con- 
versations, and  whenever  a  natural  opportunity  presents  itself, 
should  the  pastor  insist  on  the  duty  of  renouncing  the  world ; 
but  he  need  not  feel  himself  called  upon  to  exhibit  all  at 
once  all  the  evil  that  his  eyes  may  detect.  Let  him  be  guided 
in  this  point  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  At 
one  time  we  may  keep  silence  and  utter  our  complaints  to 
God  alone ;  at  another  time  we  may  feel  an  interior  impulse 
which  shall  give  us  an  energy  and  liberty,  enabling  us  to  im- 
press those  with  whom  we  have  to  do.  Do  you  feel  yourself 
urged  to  exhort  and  reprove  ?  Then  you  are  wrong  if  you 
do  not  perform  this  as  a  direct  and  immediate  duty ;  you  will 
be  doing  wrong  to  delay  its  performance  to  some  festival  day, 
to  some  visit  for  compliment  or  condolence  ;  you  will  be  wrong 
also  if  you  endeavor  to  accomplish  your  aim  in  an  oblique 
manner.  Do  you  desire  to  exhort  ?  Let  it  be  done  directly, 
without  artifice,  with  cordiality  and  frankness ;  be  not  too 
clever  in  contrivance ;  experience  shows  that  this  method 
closes  the  heart  instead  of  opening  it. 

25.  We  owe  to  a  parish  respect,  and  should  fail  in  showing 
due  respect  if  we  did  not  give  an  example  of  strict  observ- 
ance of  its  laws ;  besides  that  this  is  the  most  persuasive 
manner  of  preaching  order  and  conformity.  Things  which 
concern  the  Church,  even  of  an  exterior  character,  must  be 
arranged  with  a  degree  of  punctiliousness,  regularity,  and  pre- 
cision.    Our  hearers  are  too  ready  to  infer  inexactitude  of 


ArrENDix.  405 

doctrine  from  inexactitude  of  method.  How  slmll  tliey  be- 
lieve that  we  have  fixed  principles  in  our  teaching,  wlien  wc 
liavc  none  in  our  oificial  activity  ?  This  does  not  imply  that 
respect  for  forms  in  preaching  should  prevent  us  from  utter- 
ing any  useful  thoughts  that  may  occur  to  us  after  wc  have 
formally  closed.  We  find,  in  the  case  of  Macarius,  that  a 
liomily  was  often  interrupted  by  some  question  put  by  the 
hearer,  and  that  he  answered  even  when  it  had  little  connec- 
tion with  the  immediate  subject.  It  would  be  well  if  such 
simplicity  existed  also  in  our  worship. 

2G.  The  nature  of  my  engagements  has  not  often  called 
me  to  visit  the  sick  and  dying;  but,  from  the  little  expe- 
rience I  have  had  of  this  part  of  ministerial  labor,  I  am 
able  to  aflBrm  the  following : 

By  prayer  the  pastor  will  most  surely  attain  spiritual  wis- 
dom, tender  compassion  for  the  patient,  and  an  accurate  view 
of  his  own  duty.  Let  him  take  for  reading,  or  as  a  theme 
of  conversation,  that  which  is  best  adapted  to  the  invalid, 
and  draw  from  it  an  application  to  his  particular  circum- 
stances, without  at  first  asking  him  whether  he  rests  on  these 
truths ;  it  is  better  to  bring  him  by  degrees  to  a  free  confes- 
sion of  his  own  state.  Wc  have  gained  much  when  we  have 
induced  the  sick  man  to  compare  his  present  experience  with 
his  past  course.  When  hypocrisy  is  not  apparent,  it  is  not 
prudent  to  attempt  a  thorough  internal  revolution,  and  to  lead 
a  soul  to  believe  that  you  pay  no  regard  to  any  of  those  move- 
ments which  prcvenient  grace  has  before  produced  in  it,  and 
the  remembrance  of  which  it  still  retains.  Wc  should  rather 
seize  the  faintest  indication  which  can  give  us  an  opportunity 
of  encouraging  it :  increasing  light  ever  brings  into  fuller 
recognition  the  gulfs  and  darknesses  that  arc  pa.st.  In  this 
way  wc  can  more  easily  bring  the  sick  man  to  those  individual 
applications  which  arc  so  important.  In  the  case  of  those 
who  have  been  signally  sinful,  adulterers,  or  voluptuous,  there 


406  APPENDIX. 

is  often  despair,  and  we  are  obliged  to  begin  by  showing 
them  that  there  is  yet  a  remedy,  although  the  case  is  serious. 
This  despair  sometimes  leads  them  to  exclaim,  "  I  am  lost :  I 
belong  to  the  devil;"  which  gives  us  an  opportunity  of 
making  them  consider  their  state  of  sin  generally  and  in  de- 
tail, and  also  of  leading  them  to  the  free  grace  of  God.  Ac- 
cording as  we  may  judge,  we  may  dwell  more  emphatically 
on  one  point  than  another — on  repentance,  or  faith,  or  re- 
signation to  the  will  of  God.  We  must  avoid  saying  too 
much.  With  sick  persons  we  find  two  opposite  results  :  some 
feel  that  the  pastor's  visit  does  them  good,  and  is  agreeable 
to  them;  others  are  fatigued  by  it;  we  must  therefore  study 
different  cases  with  care,  and  conform  to  the  necessities  of 
the  invalid,  knowing  when  it  is  convenient  to  be  silent,  and 
when  to  speak.  If  a  sick  man  appears  inaccessible  when  we 
wish  him  to  confess  his  state  of  sin,  we  must  anticipate  him 
by  prayer,  and  put  into  his  mouth  what  we  would  wish  him 
to  say  himself.  A  man  willingly  allows  himself  to  be  accused 
when  we  place  him  in  the  presence  of  God  by  prayer;  it 
is  not  easy  to  persuade  him  to  confess  his  sins  before  men, 
especially  when  he  is  heard  by  a  variety  of  persons. 

There  are  sick  men,  especially  old  men,  who  think  that 
suffragans  and  young  pastors  are  well-meaning  young  men, 
doubtless,  but  that  they  have  too  little  experience  of  life  to 
know  that  the  gospel  law  cannot  be  taken  in  all  its  literal  ex- 
actness. We  must  endeavor  to  remove  this  prejudice  by 
turning  their  look  away  from  and  above  the  instrument,  and 
leading  them  to  the  presence  of  immutable  and  eternal  truth. 
It  is  right  to  make  them  understand  that  we  have  no  other 
interest  in  them  beyond  the  salvation  of  their  soul,  since  we 
have  nothing  to  gain  by  preaching  to  them  in  one  mode  rather 
than  in  unother. 

In  communion  services  we  have  especially  favorable  oppor- 
tunities for  exhibiting  all  the  treasures  of  Christ's  love.    But 


APPENDIX.  407 

WO  iiuisfc  vehemently  oppose  llic  error  ol'  supposintj;  there  is 
any  fy)?/.s  operatum,  the  error  of  attributing  merit  to  external 
works,  and  especially  in  the  outward  participation  in  the 
Lord's  Supper ;  we  must  oppose  it  in  its  application  to  the 
])ast,  the  present,  and  the  future,  and  impress  upon  the  sick 
man,  both  before  and  after  the  communion,  that  peace  is  only 
to  be  found  in  the  grace  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 

The  pastor  ought  to  be  attentive  that  he  may  let  no  oppor- 
tunity for  doing  good  pass.  He  will  therefore  address  him- 
self to  those  who  are  present,  both  before  and  after  death, 
and  explain  to  them  that  it  is  not  his  exhortation,  however 
forcible  it  may  be,  which  can  save  the  sick  man,  but  the  dis- 
})ositions  of  his  own  heart;  that  it  will  not  suffice  for  him 
to  give  a  general  assent  to  the  sentiments  uttered,  unless  he 
responds  to  them  by  the  inmost  feelings  and  wishes  of  his 
heart.  Many  souls  do  not  feel  this  spiritual  hunger;  pro- 
bably many  die  impenitent ;  which,  however,  is  on  no  account 
to  be  affirmed  of  those  who  have  prayed  and  listened  to  the 
word  of  God  before  us.  The  baptism  for  the  dead,  or  over 
the  dead,  of  which  St.  Paul  speaks,  ought  to  be  understood, 
if  I  mistake  not,  of  those  who  accept  Christianity  a  short 
time  before  death.  To  "  save  so  as  yd  by  fire,"  is  to  receive 
a  soul  which  is  in  the  most  imminent  danger,  and  with  whom 
we  are  obliged  to  use  violent  means,  because  we  have  not 
time  for  gentle  and  quiet  measures.  The  words  of  Jesus, 
''  There  are  few  that  be  saved,"  instead  of  discouraging  the 
pastor,  ought  to  make  him  redouble  his  zeal  and  earnestness. 
1  believe,  however,  that  dcath-bcd  conversions  arc  rare : 
cither  the  sufferer  had  more  virtues  in  him  than  he  allowed 
lo  be  seen,  and  his  last  moments  brought  to  light  these  hidden 
graces,  or,  most  likely,  he  leaves  the  world  with  the  same 
dispositions  that  he  has  ever  had.  It  must,  however,  be  ob- 
served that  there  is  a  cla.ss  of  persons  who,  for  want  of  cul- 
ture, cannot  express  what  is  in  them.    God  delights  in  mani- 


408  APPENDIX. 

festing  such  souls  on  tlie  bed  of  death ;  he  does  not  allow  his 
children  to  leave  the  world  entirely  incognito. 

The  impenitent  who  desire  to  postpone  conversion  to  the 
last  hour,  should  be  admonished  that  at  the  hour  of  death  a 
man  cannot  be  sure  of  rendering  a  free  and  therefore  a  sin- 
cere testimony ;  for  if,  at  this  last  moment,  he  can  interrogate 
his  conscience,  it  will  probably  tell  him,  "Thou  wouldst  not 
liave  done  this  in  good  health." 

We  sometimes  meet  with  persons  who  are  always  weeping, 
and  yet  know  not  why  they  weep.  We  must  not  be  offended 
because  they  cannot  express  the  reason  of  their  sorrow,  but 
we  must  allow  them  to  weep,  and  exhort  them  to  lay  their 
hearts  open  before  God  in  Christ;  he  will  hear  and  under- 
stand them. 

We  must  also  recollect,  at  the  bed  of  death,  that  some  are 
kept  back  by  the  need  of  pardon  from  some  person  whom 
they  have  offended ;  it  is  our  business  to  procure  for  them 
this  word  of  reconciliation,  after  which  they  may  die 
happy. 

27.  We  will  add  to  these  rules  of  Bengel  on  visiting  the 
sick,  some  of  the  words  which  he  actually  spoke  to  sick  per- 
sons. 

a.  He  said  to  a  man  whose  case  was  hopeless :  "  Dear 
friend,  look  to  the  love  and  the  light  of  God,  make  use  of 
the  rights  which  Jesus  Christ,  the  well-beloved,  has  pur- 
chased for  the  rebellious  children  of  his  Father;  may  the 
Spirit  of  grace  be  powerful  in  your  feebleness,  may  he  pro- 
duce aspirations  in  our  hearts  which  may  go  with  us  to  the 
eternal  world,  when  we  are  invited  to  dwell  with  the  great 
Precursor  who  has  entered  there  for  us  and  for  all  who  have 
passed  along  this  road  which  we  must  pass.  I  commend  you 
to  a  faithful  God  :  let  us  pray  for  one  another." 

h.  Mile,  de  St.,  who  was  in  a  consumption,  showed  him 
her  emaciated  arms,  and  complained  that  God  had  not  yet 


ATPENDIX.  409 

taken  her  away.  ]3cngel  answered,  '•  You  arc  like  one  of 
luy  pupils  who  wished  to  go  for  his  vacation  before  the 
proper  time ;  he  was  obliged  to  remain  till  he  had  learned 
his  last  lesson.  You  think  you  liave  nothing  more  to  do 
here  below,  but  you  may  be  sure  that  it  is  a  good  preparation 
for  eternity  for  a  Christian  when,  being  fully  equipped  and 
ready  to  depart,  he  is  obliged  to  wait  yet  a  little  time  for  the 
IM aster's  word.  While  you  submit  patiently,  you  present  to 
God  a  worship  that  is  acceptable  to  him."* 

f.  liengel,  with  other  Christian  friends,  was  by  the  bed- 
side of  the  pastor  Grammich,  to  whom,  after  prayer,  they 
sang  the  following  hymn  : 

Cendre  froidc  et  niuette, 

Dans  ta  sombre  relraite 

Dors  en  paix,  quisqu'  au  jour 

Ou  le  Seigneur  qui  t'aimc 

T'cmportera  lui-meme, 

Vivante  et  rajeunie,  au  bienheureux  s<^jour. 

Eengel  repeated  to  the  sufferer  the  most  touching  ex- 
pressions in  this  hymn.  Then  he  spoke  to  him  of  the 
glories  of  the  city  of  God,  "  which  must  be  beautiful,"  he 
said,  "  because  it  is  written  that  '  God  himself  is  not  ashamed 
to  be  called  their  God,  for  he  hath  prepared  for  them  a 
city.'  "  Then  the  sick  man,  sensible  of  the  majesty  of  God, 
felt  profoundly  humbled  by  a  sense  of  his  own  misery. 
Bengel  said  to  him,  ''  The  scr\'ant  of  God  must  ask  forgive- 
ness." This  the  sick  man  did,  shedding  many  tears ;  then 
IJengel  continued,  ''If  we  confess  our  faults  and  our 
miseries,  God  will  not  be  hard  with  us;  he  acts  royally,  he 
gives  us  ten  thousand  talents  at  once."  At  length  the  sick 
man   regained  his  serenity,  and   preserved    it   to   the    last. 

[*  So  Milton:  "Tiicy  also  serve  avUo  only  stand  and  wait." — 
T.  0.  S.] 


410  APPENDIX. 

When  they  took  leave  of  one  another,  each  placed  his 
hand  on  the  other's  head,  and  they  blessed  each  other 
abundantly. 

d.  With  regard  to  persons  afflicted  with  a  mental  disease, 
he  said,  "I  am  pleased  to  listen  to  these  persons;  something 
is  always  to  be  learnt  from  what  they  say,  and  moreover  this 
is  a  favorable  opportunity  for  studying  human  nature.  But 
when  the  depression  is  so  great  that  the  sufferer  opens 
neither  his  mouth  nor  his  heart,  I  pray  with  him,  and  per- 
suade him  to  repeat  my  words  aloud.  There  is  a  great 
power  in  the  voice." 

29.  When  we  remind  the  rich  of  their  duty,  in  order  to 
excite  them  to  benevolence,  it  would  be  desirable  to  take  the 
opportunity  of  reminding  the  poor  also  of  the  justice  and 
fidelity  required  of  them ;  otherwise  the  poor  and  the  rich 
will  both  complete  our  words  in  their  own  way,  to  their 
great  injury,  and  each  will  reproach  the  other  with  the  faults 
they  respectively  discern.  Would  it  not  be  better  to  lead 
both  of  them  to  seek  for  peace  with  one  another  in  the  Lord, 
and  persuade  those  who  have  too  much  to  impart  of  their 
superfluity  to  those  who  have  not  enough  ?  The  reason  per- 
haps why  the  rich  seek  in  the  conduct  of  the  poor  for 
excuses  for  not  helping  them,  is,  that  we  are  contented  with 
preaching  to  the  rich  only. 

30.  The  pastor  ought  to  give  the  greatest  attention  to 
those  who  are  first  in  his  parish — that  is,  children ;  and  to 
those  who  are  last — that  is,  the  dying  :  to  the  former,  because 
from  tbem  most  fruit  is  to  be  expected ;  to  the  latter, 
because  little  time  remains  for  us  to  exercise  our  ministry 
toward  them. 

31.  The  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  to  so  many 
variously  disposed  persons  must  necessarily  cause  much 
anxiety   to   a   conscientious   pastor.      I   have    been    asked 


APPENDIX.  411 

Tyliotlier  it  would  not  be  bottei'  to  be  entirely  deprived  of  it, 
than  to  give  the  liord's  body  to  all  without  distinction  :  T 
answer,  there  is  a  diirercnce  between  the  theoretical  and 
practical  defence  of  the  truth.  The  first  is  more  or  less 
independent  of  the  variations  of  earth,  and  is  accomplished 
more  or  less  fully,  notwithstanding  all  circumstances.  The 
second  is  more  difficult  in  itself,  and  has  at  all  times  been 
subject  to  abuse. 

When  a  pastor  has  serious  doubts  whether  a  person  who 
presents  himself  at  the  table  is  worthy  to  partake  of  the 
(Supper,  he  ought,  before  the  day  of  communion,  to  speak 
privately  with  that  person,  explaining  to  him  the  solemnity 
of  the  act  and  the  magnitude  of  the  responsibility  which  he 
assumes,  and  then  leave  him  to  act  according  to  his  own  will. 
The  enclosure  should  be  outside  the  temple,  not  within, 
around  the  altar.  The  pastor  should  be  able  to  administer 
the  Supper  with  all  fulness  of  joy,  as  if  he  were  about  to 
communicate  to  all  his  sheep  all  the  fulness  of  the  blood  of 
Christ ;  as  if,  with  these  sacred  pledges  of  mercy,  he  felt 
strong  enough  to  raise  all  these  souls  at  once  to  heaven. 

The  Holy  Supper  is  a  means  of  conversion  to  many; 
those  who  officiate  ought,  therefore,  according  to  their  know- 
ledge of  the  particular  state  of  the  communicant,  to  address 
to  him  the  words  of  the  institution  with  all  the  gravity  and 
emphasis  that  are  required  in  order  to  impress  him.  13ut  I 
do  not  think  it  right  to  make  use  of  the  communion  as  a 
means  for  conversion,  to  teach  dogmas,  properly  so  called; 
fur  this  is  not  its  precise  aim. 

32.  The  doctrine  of  the  effects  of  prayer,  and  of  the  un- 
spoken word,  is  very  important;  but  without  great  prudence 
in  teaching  and  applying  it,  we  are  in  danger  of  falling  into 
great  errors  of  heart,  and  of  tempting  God.  The  words  of 
St.  John,  ''They  shall  all  be  taught  of  God,"  (John  vi.  45, 
lleb.  viii.,)  ought  not  to  be  interpreted  as  implying  that  no 


412  •  APPENDIX. 

one  will  need  teaching  from  his  brother.  If  this  were  the 
case,  why  did  the  apostles  teach  ?  These  words  indicate  the 
superiority  of  the  New  to  the  Old  Dispensation.  In  the 
ancient  economy,  God  was  obliged  to  use  compulsion  with 
the  Israelites ;  the  new  economy  is  characterized  by  a  spirit 
of  liberty,  which  gives  free  play  to  intelligence.  When  a 
man  receives  that  spirit  which  is  promised  in  the  New 
Testament,  every  thing  becomes  more  easily  intelligible  to 
him,  and  he  acquires  a  readiness  in  sacred  studies  which 
others  do  not  possess  after  long  and  repeated  application. 
The  passage  in  1  John  ii.  27  applies  to  false  doctrine,  in 
regard  to  which  the  Christian  docs  not  need  to  be  instructed. 
The  two  questions  are  very  different — whether  certain  souls 
can  be  awakened  without  the  intervention  of  the  gospel 
ministry,  and  whether  the  entire  Church  can  be  sustained 
and  perpetuated  without  it. 

38.  Mysticism  dates  from  the  fourth  or  fifth  century. 
The  Aristotelian  philosophy,  and  afterwards  the  Scholastic,, 
which  was  derived  from  it,  being  cultivated  with  ardor, 
many  sincere  persons,  to  escape  from  the  disputations  of  the 
schools,  retired  within  themselves.  Each  mystic  had  a 
certain  ray  of  light,  but  this  was  all;  he  did  not  understand 
any  thing  of  the  Divine  economy,  nor  of  the  Divine  ways  in 
general.  These  men  retired  into  solitude,  and  were  hence- 
forth nothing  to  society.  They  lived  during  times  of  dark- 
ness; they  were  happy  themselves,  but  did  not  contribute 
to  the  welfare  of  others.  While  the  Scholastics  valued 
nothing  but  speculation  and  reasoning,  they,  with  the  Plato- 
nists,  valued  feeling  alone,  and  the  unseen  and  silent  disposi- 
tions of  the  heart.  The  Mystics  were  wrong  in  not  confessing 
the  good  that  they  had  received ;  they  could  not  have  found 
it  elsewhere  than  in  the  territory  of  the  Church. 

34.  It  is  well  for  the  country  pastor  to  pursue,  along  with 
his  pastoral  labors,  some  special  studies  relating  to  his  con- 


APPENDIX.  413 

dition,  in  order  that  he  may  not  always  have  to  Hill  back 
upon  his  own  resources  ;  he  should  also  know  what  is  passing 
in  otlier  parts  of  the  Divine  kingdom,  in  order  that  he  may 
be,  as  occasion  may  require,  encouraged,  awakened,  humbled, 
and  instructed. 


Date  Due 


"7^^ 


